Jun 21, 2012 20:44 Moscow Time
The preliminary investigation of the Superjet-100 air crash in Indonesia, where 45 people were killed, has been completed. After studying the information of on-board flight recorders, commission representatives came to the conclusion that the Superjet -100 plane did not have any apparent technical failures at the moment of the crash.
However, who is to blame for the air crash - the pilots, the air traffic controller or the passengers – is not known yet.
The Sukhoi Superjet -100 crash occurred on May 9th this year. During a demonstration flight in Indonesia the plane hit a mountain peak. However, it is not clear yet how could it be that experienced pilots failed to see an obstacle and ignored both visual and sound danger warnings, a Russian aviation expert, Roman Gussarov, says.
"Probably, it was a piloting mistake, or the result of a misunderstanding between a pilot and air traffic controllers. There are some more questions here: who organized the flights on the airfield in Indonesia, which is considered to be a very difficult field, in other words, an alien field, for our pilots. Besides, it is situated far away from the international air routes. And finally, was there any need for arranging such risky flights?"
A careful analysis should be carried out to establish the reason for the previously mentioned air crash, the head of the press service of the United Aircraft Corporation Olga Kayukova says.
"For the time being, it is absolutely clear that there were no technical failures. However, the official preliminary results of the investigation have not been published yet. There are many details that should be linked. Therefore, it is somewhat premature at the moment to give forecasts about the final results."
After the Superjet -100 crash in Indonesia experts said that the Russian aircraft industry experienced a serious blow. This means that the company has lost all its contracts for the Superjet-100 purchases. Luckily, pessimistic forecasts were not confirmed, Olga Kayukova said.
"A contract with one of the leading operators in Russia - the Transaero Company – for purchasing 6 airplanes was signed at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum today. And since technical issues regarding the Superjet-100 plane are nonexistent, there is no reason to think that the commercial prospects of this project are under risk."
The independent Indonesian commission conducting the investigation into the Superjet -100 crash, in which Russian experts are also involved, will announce the results in a year.
