Mount Salak Sukhoi Superjet 100

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The Mount Salak Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ-100) crash occurred on 9 May 2012 when an SSJ-100 aircraft crashed on a demonstration flight operating from Halim Perdanakusuma Airport, Jakarta, Indonesia.[1] On 10 May, the wreckage of the Sukhoi Superjet was spotted on a cliff in Mount Salak, a volcano in the province of West Java. Due to the widespread debris field where the aircraft hit the mountain, rescuers concluded that the aircraft directly impacted the rocky side of the mountain and that there was "no chance of survival".[2][3] On 12 May 2012, it was reported that the remains of several victims' bodies had been recovered and airlifted to Halim Airport and then taken to the National Police Hospital for identification.[4] The final report, released 18 December 2012, indicated that the accident was caused by crew members ignoring terrain warnings that they had incorrectly attributed to a database problem. The crew had turned off the terrain warning system and were unaware that they were operating in close proximity to mountains. The crew, including the captain, were engaging in conversation with potential customers as the aircraft impacted the ground.

Crash

At 14:00 local time (07:00 UTC),the SSJ-100 departed from Halim Perdanakusuma Airport for a local demonstration flight, and was due to return to the departure point.This was the second demonstration flight the aircraft was operating that day.There were six crew, two representatives from Sukhoi and 37 passengers on board.Amongst the passengers were representatives from Aviastar Mandiri, Batavia Air, Pelita Air Service and Sriwijaya Air.At 14:21 (07:21 UTC), the crew requested permission to descend from 10,000 feet (3,000 m) to 6,000 feet (1,800 m) for reasons which were unclear, and this was granted. This was the last contact that Air Traffic Control had with the aircraft,which was then about 75 nautical miles (139 km) south of Jakarta,in the vicinity of 7,254-foot (2,211 m) high Mount Salak, a mountain higher than the requested flight level Simon Hradecky, of The Aviation Herald, later reported: "Indonesia's Air Traffic Control, Jakarta Branch, reported that communication between ATC and aircraft was done in English, there was no language problem hampering communication. The aircraft had been in the area of Bogor, approximate coordinates 6.55°S 106.9°E, about 13 nautical miles (24 km) northeast of the peak of Mount Salak and 7 nautical miles (13 km) clear of mountainous terrain in safe flat area, when the crew requested to descend and to perform a right orbit. As there was no reason to decline such a clearance the flight was cleared down and for the right orbit. This was the last transmission from the aircraft, the aircraft could not be reached afterwards. The plane having finished right orbit flew a course about 210°. It is unclear how the aircraft got into the area of Mount Salak and crashed afterwards, ATC services hope the black boxes will explain how the aircraft got there. All data including flight plan, radar data and ATC recordings as well as transcripts of interviews with the air traffic controller have been handed to Indonesia's NTSC. In December 2012, the crash investigation determined that the plane's terrain warning system had been functioning correctly and had warned the pilots about the collision course with the mountain. The pilots, however, turned the system off, suspecting it to have malfunctioned. Due to being distracted by conversation on the flight deck, unrelated to flying the plane, they failed to notice that the plane was in danger. A ground and air search for the aircraft was initiated, but was called off as night fell. On 10 May at 09:00 (02:00 UTC), the wreckage of the Sukhoi Superjet was found on Mount Salak.It is only known that the aircraft had been flying on a clockwise flightpath around the mountain, towards Jakarta, before the crash.Preliminary reports indicated that the aircraft had hit the edge of a cliff at an elevation of 6,270 feet (1,910 m), slid down a slope and came to rest at an elevation of 5,200 feet (1,600 m). Despite appearing relatively intact from the air, the aircraft sustained substantial damage, and there was no sign of survivors. The site of the accident was not accessible by air and no rescuers had reached the site by nightfall on 10 May. Multiple groups of rescue personnel attempted to reach the wreckage on foot.

Investigation

The day after the crash Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev set up a commission, to investigate the cause of the accident, headed by the Industry and Trade Ministry's Yury Slyusar.[27] According to the National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC), the Indonesian agency for the investigation of civil aircraft accidents, analysis of the crash would take up to 12 months.[28] On 15 May 2012, it was reported in the local media that the Indonesian government had turned down Russia's request to send back the flight data recorder, stating that Indonesian investigators would determine the cause of the crash, while Russian experts would provide support only.[29] The cockpit voice recorder was found on 15 May 2012 at a distance of 200 m from the tail section.[9] The flight data recorder was found on 31 May 2012[30] at a distance of 200 m from the tail section.[31] The Indonesian NTSC had released their Preliminary Report, which listed factual findings but did not attempt to determine the cause of the accident.[32] According to sources within the investigating committee, the aircraft was in full working order and the incident was ascribed to human error.[33][34] The final report was released 18 December 2012[35] and indicated that the accident was caused by crew members ignoring terrain warnings that they had incorrectly attributed to a database problem. The crew had turned off the terrain warning system and were unaware that they were operating in close proximity to mountains. The crew, including the captain, were engaging in conversation with potential customers as the aircraft impacted the ground.

Incident summary
Date	9 May 2012
Summary	Controlled flight into terrain, Impacted mountainside during demonstration flight
Site	Mount Salak, Indonesia
Passengers	37
Crew	8
Fatalities	45 (all)
Survivors	0
Aircraft type	Sukhoi SSJ-100-95
Operator	Sukhoi
Registration	97004
Flight origin	Halim Perdanakusuma Airport, Jakarta, Indonesia
Destination	Soekarno Hatta International Airport, Jakarta, Indonesia

Air Crash Investigation