Indonesia's Sky Aviation to reconsider Sukhoi contract
Following the Sukhoi Superjet 100 airliner crash, an official from Indonesian carrier Sky Aviation said that his company will re-evaluate its contract with Sukhoi Civil Aircraft for the purchase of 12 airplanes.
Sky Aviation’s safety manager Sukamto said yesterday that the accident had forced the company to delay taking delivery of the aircraft.
“We will wait for the results of the investigation into the cause of the accident before we take the next step,” he was quoted as saying by Kompas.com.
According to Sukamto, officials from the National Transportation Safety Committee have confirmed that the air-crash investigation would take one year to complete.
Earlier, an official statement from the Russian Embassy in Jakarta confirmed that the contract was signed during the International Aviation and Space Salon MAKS-2011 in Zhukovsky, Russia, on August 16, 2011.
The contract is valued at US$380.4 million (Bt11.9 billion).
Last week, an executive at Indonesian domestic carrier Kartika Airlines said that the delivery of 30 Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft that his company had ordered would likely also be delayed following the plane crash.
Another Indonesian carrier, Queen Air, which ordered six Sukhoi aircraft, has yet to confirm whether it will cancel the order.
Last Tuesday, a Sukhoi Superjet 100 arrived at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in East Jakarta and was welcomed by potential buyers, including Sky Aviation officials who hosted the demonstration flight or “joy flight”.
On Wednesday, the Sukhoi carried out it first exhibition flight and landed smoothly at the airport.
However, the second joy flight of the Russian-made plane ended in tragedy.
With 45 people on board, including nine flight attendants from Sky Aviation, the Sukhoi disappeared from radar screens at 2.33pm last Wednesday. An air force helicopter spotted its wreckage up in the foothills of Mt Salak in Cidahu, Sukabumi, at 9.15am the following day.
Search and rescue teams found that the bodies of the Sukhoi passengers were no longer intact.
Eight Russian crew members, one American citizen and one French passenger were on board along with 35 Indonesians.
As of Monday, a total of 25 body bags had been sent to the officials of Raden Said Sukanto National Police Hospital in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta. – Jakarta Post
