Plane on demonstration flight goes missing with 50 onboard | Albuquerque Express

Plane on demonstration flight goes missing with 50 onboard

Albuquerque Express Wednesday 9th May, 2012

• The plane disappeared from the radar around the Bogor area

• Not yet known whether the medium-haul passenger aircraft plane crashed and if so where

• The plane has been developed by Sukhoi in cooperation with US and European aviation corporations

ALI KOTARUMALOS, JAKARTA - A new Russian-made civilian plane Sukhoi Superjet 100 carrying 50 people went missing in Indonesia while flying over mountains on Wednesday during a demonstration flight for potential buyers.

"The plane disappeared from the radar around the Bogor area," said Gagah Prakoso, spokesman of national search and rescue agency.

It is not as yet known whether the medium-haul passenger aircraft plane crashed and if so where.

The medium-haul passenger aircraft has been developed by Sukhoi in cooperation with US and European aviation corporations including Boeing, Snecma, Thales, Messier Dowty, Liebherr Aerospace and Honeywell.

Officials said Search and rescue teams were heading to the area just south of the Capital.

Bad weather, however, forced at least two helicopters to turn back, said Bambang Ervan, a spokesman for the Ministry of Transportation.

The Sukhoi Superjet-100 took off from Jakarta's Halim Perdanakusuma Airport at 2:21 pm (0721 GMT).

It disappeared from the radar 21 minutes later near the Salak mountain range, after the crew asked air traffic control for permission to descend from 10,000 feet to 6,000 feet.

No explanation was given for the sudden change of course.

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