Russia's Sukhoi SuperJet-100 goes off radars in Jakarta, hijacking not ruled out!!!

H.A.

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What happened to its Terrain Avoidance Warning System?
Every plane definitely has Terrain Avoidance Warning system, since the aircraft was under certification process nobody knows whether it was even fitted or if it was fitted, it probably would have failed.

As i said clearer information for the result of the crash shall come after they find the Blackbox.
 

spikey360

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What happened to its Terrain Avoidance Warning System?
Yeah well, if a plane's got to crash it's got to crash. Fighters crash for all sorts of reasons, so do jumbo jets, unfortunately.
But I agree with hussainattari, perhaps it is not a problem with the plane since its first flight was in 2007 and Aeroflot already has some superjets in their fleet. Though the black box will reveal all, it isn't too wrong to presume some error from the ATC as well.
 

asianobserve

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Talking about TAWS of that tragic jet, a photo of its instrument panel taken before the jet took off shows that its TAWS was turned off...

 

H.A.

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The above picture by Asianobserve...is very enlightening, but the the verdict is not final in that case because the Terrain Warning System could have been switched on after taking the snap. There are a lot of switches which are in the off position in the picture.

Also please check the Navigation and Beacon switches in the center bottom panel they seem to be off, so it might be that the pilot switches them on before the final takeoff.

Blackbox will be the final nail in the coffin.
 

pmaitra

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RIP....

That's one great shock to Russia's ambition of re-realizing its might in civil aviation. Sabotage by competitors (of unethical kind) can't be ruled out.
I am thinking of the same thing.

Russian (as well as Soviet) airplanes were always very robust.

 
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asianobserve

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Short term the Sukhoi Bureau has to do a lot of damage control. But they can take comfort in the experience of Airbus on their A320 plane wherein an early model crashed during a flight demo. Despite the mishap the A320 family became one of the best selling narrow-body aircraft.
 

tony4562

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I am thinking of the same thing.

Russian (as well as Soviet) airplanes were always very robust.

No plane is robust enough to crash head-on into a mountain. Rudimentary would probably be the better choice of word to describe russian products..

Crash on a demo flight with dozens of airline executives, nothing could be worse than that! I would dare to say that the superjet is finished along with Russia's civilian aivation industry.
 
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spikey360

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Talking about TAWS of that tragic jet, a photo of its instrument panel taken before the jet took off shows that its TAWS was turned off...

Woah! So sad you were not intelligent enough to point that out before the jet took off.
 

spikey360

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Just to pass this to you, hopefully it can add to your intelligence, TAWS is not part of the pre-flight check procedure... :rolleyes:
So I take it you are an aviation expert/pilot.
But how the hell are you sure that this is not just a standard photo of one of the control panels but a hard evidence/documentation of pre-flight check?
 

Zebra

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Russian jet Sukhoi Superjet 100 crash in Indonesia


Published on May 9, 2012 by WorldNews365.
 
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asianobserve

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So I take it you are an aviation expert/pilot.
But how the hell are you sure that this is not just a standard photo of one of the control panels but a hard evidence/documentation of pre-flight check?
According to the one who produced this photo it was taken from the doomed jetliner before the flight. No one is questioning him in their forum Airliners.net | Airplanes - Aviation - Aircraft- Aircraft Photos & News, which I think is for aircraft enthusiasts and pilots judging from the technical level of their conversations. Re info on pre-flight check list, well I learned it from the same forum (where I'm not a member BTW).

This is their thread on the Sukhoi Superjet crash: http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/general_aviation/read.main/5462074/. I find their exchanges very informative.

Of course it is admitted by the person who produced this photo that he is merely speculating on the angle of TAWS since it was turned off before flight. But because it is not part of the pre-flight check list there's a good probability that it might have been overlooked by the crew on that tragic flight.
 
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H.A.

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Plane strange: Superjet crash needs criminal investigation

The crash of a Russian-built commercial jet on May 9th in Indonesia came at a particularly bad time. The Sukhoi Superjet 100 had just kicked off a promotional Asian tour to attract orders and get Russia's aviation industry off the ground again.

The enthusiasm was cut tragically short, when the plane disappeared from radar screens at 2:33 pm on Wednesday. The following day, rescue teams found debris from the aircraft littering the steep slopes of Mount Salak in West Java. This leaves the investigation team with the unenviable task of piecing together exactly what went wrong on the doomed flight.

First, the Superjet 100 is unquestionably state-of-the-art technology. The aircraft, which took its maiden flight back in April 2011, combines the technical expertise of five US and European aviation companies. Russia has spent about $1.5 billion researching and developing the twin-engine aircraft with its Italian partner, Alenia Aeronautica SpA. According to the manufacturer, the aircraft has a range of 4,600 kilometers (2,800 miles) and costs just $35 million, well below the market price for this type of aircraft.

The Jakarta Post interviewed Chappy Hakim, the former head of the Indonesia National Team for the Evaluation of Transportation Safety and Security, on the avionics featured in the Superjet. "The cockpit, which is almost identical to the Airbus's design, is fitted with the latest Fly by Wire technology, a state-of-the-art avionic system and even a 'joy stick' to control the plane's maneuvers," Hakim said. "The aircraft comes with a Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) that alarms pilots about impending obstacles in the air. The Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS), installed since the first design, warns pilots whenever the plane flies dangerously low."

Given such advanced instruments, Hakim found it perplexing that the aircraft crashed the way it did (head-on into the mountain, as opposed to "swiping" it blindsided at an angle). Furthermore, the Superjet was "closely monitored" as part of its "continuous effort to improve the product." In other words, this state-of-the-art aircraft had a round-the-clock team of mechanics to keep the machine ship-shape.

According to the aviation expert, "this plane was in top shape and was flown by a highly competent crew, including Sukhoi's own test pilots."

Aside from the low probability of mechanical problems, investigators have some other disturbing questions to consider: why would highly experienced pilots request to descend to an altitude of 6,000 feet from 10,000 feet in a mountainous region if weather was a factor (there was reportedly some cloud cover, with a light rain)? The normal procedure in such situations is to ascend above the cloud coverage.

Since this was their second demonstration flight, the pilots certainly knew that Mount Salak is a 7,000-foot dormant volcano, one of many in the area. The discovery of the "black box" – that is, assuming it is found – should tell investigators if the crash was due to human error or some sort of catastrophic malfunction. Or it might lead investigators into less pleasant terrain.

Given the extremely sophisticated instrumentation onboard the aircraft, and the professionalism and experience of the crew, it is too early to rule out industrial espionage as a possible cause of the crash. In my opinion, the accident deserves a full criminal investigation of every single person – airline worker or not – who came into contact on May 9th with the aircraft before it crashed. Although it may sound over-the-top, unless researchers find conclusive evidence of human error or technical malfunction, I would even request polygraph tests. But that's me.

Sukhoi has plans to sell about 1,000 Superjets over the next ten years. To date, the ambitious campaign has already attracted about 200 orders from international clients. These numbers represent a respectable chunk of the highly profitable commercial aircraft market. Given the extremely competitive conditions of the global economy, which is still struggling to pull through a grinding recession, aviation companies have no desire to surrender their market share to newcomers. While a competitive market does not automatically point to foul play, it does not automatically rule it out either.

Meanwhile, Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin told reporters that a group of Russian investigators has flown to Jakarta to take part in the inquiry into the crash, and another group will travel there on Saturday. "As part of the criminal inquiry, a part of the group of Russian investigators has already flown out to Jakarta where they are going to attend the investigative procedures carried out by the Indonesian law enforcement authorities," Markin said.

The second group of investigators will fly to Indonesia on May 12, he said, adding that the investigation will focus on Russia as well. "It should be noted that the investigative procedures will take place not only at the air crash scene but also in the Russian Federation," Markin said. "In particular, investigators will question the technical staff who prepared the aircraft for the flight, as well as representatives from the Sukhoi Civil Aircraft company, who were involved in making and preparing the aircraft for operation."

Meanwhile, according to Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa, the Sukhoi crash will not affect economic ties between Russia and Indonesia.

"Economic cooperation between the two countries continues to develop without problems, as usual," said Rajas, who was quoted by Indonesian media on Saturday.

The crash of the Superjet on May 9th was not the only mysterious incident to hit Russia's aviation industry in a rather short period. On September 7, 2011, a Yakolev-42 aircraft crashed on takeoff near the city of Yaroslavl. The aircraft failed to gain altitude, struck a tower mast, and crashed. Forty-five people died. The accident occurred on the same day that Yaroslavl was hosting its third international summit, attended by 400 participants from 36 countries. The official cause of the plane coming down has been declared as "pilot error," although experts are still in disagreement as to exactly what caused the crash.
Plane strange: Superjet crash needs criminal investigation — RT
 

pmaitra

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Was Industrial Sabotage at Play with Super Jet crash in Indonesia?

Based on past aggressive competitive commercial tactics employed by the alliance of American corporations, the U.S. Intelligence Community, and the Pentagon, aviation experts in Asia are wondering aloud whether the recent crash of the new Sukhoi Super Jet 100 in Indonesia was the result of high-stakes industrial sabotage engineered to protect Boeing's lucrative commercial and military aviation market in Asia at the expense of a resurgent Russian aviation industry"¦
 

agentperry

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i remember there were talks of producing this plane in India under JV. now im sure not the orders but the JV partners will back off. coward corporations of India
 

H.A.

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i remember there were talks of producing this plane in India under JV. now im sure not the orders but the JV partners will back off. coward corporations of India
Could you explain this better please.
 

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