[Aviation Herald] This morning (Friday 11th May) search and rescue teams searching for the wreckage of a Russian built airliner on the slopes of Mount Salak finally reached the mountainous crash impact site and the wreckage below.
More Large Images Here – Rescuers used ropes to lower themselves to the wreckage Photo: Aviation Herald
Rescuers Make Sure but Slow Progress
The previous evening local police released some data stating that the rescue effort had engaged the services of over 1,300 personnel. Such a large force had been involved because of the sheer scale of the mountainous countryside in the area.
Access to the site by air is just not possible due to the extreme terrain locally.
It was taking up to 7 hours for the teams to climb the cliff face to reach the site of the incident.
Four search and rescue teams were formed, the first an advance group of just 10 rescuers, the second consisted of 75 search and rescue experts. This was followed by a 3rd and 4th group which had a further 225 and 250 in the parties.
Once the area above the impact site was reached, rescuers then had to use ropes to descend down the opposite steep cliff face to lower themselves to the wreckage below.
In a statement this afternoon, Indonesia’s President and a spokesperson for the rescue coordinators, announced in a press conference that 12 bodies have been discovered. The victims’ bodies were recovered and then flown out of the area,
The operation was suspended for the night after darkness fell.
The Incident
The aircraft with 36 passengers and 6 crew plus 2 Sukhoi executives on board was flying from Jakarta’s Halim Perdanakusuma Airport on a round demonstration flight.
As it neared regions called Mount Salak and Bogor, about 40 miles south of Jakarta it vanished from radar and radio contact was lost. Indonesian air transport officials stated that the aircraft was flying at about 10,000 feet near Mount Salak at 3:30pm local time when the crew requested a descent to 6000 feet.
Radar contact was lost as the aircraft descended in a right hand turn, at the previously requested height between Mount Salak and Mount Gede. Mount Salak is 2,211 meters (7254 feet) high, nearby Mount Gede is 2,958 meters (9,705 feet) high.
Sukhoi’s Welcome Asia! road show
The Russian built Suhkoi Superjet 100 aircraft was on a promotional tour of Asia when it lost radio contact with local air traffic controllers in Western Indonesia earlier yesterday.
The Sukhoi aircraft arrived in Jakarta on May 8th 2012, on the fourth stop of a six-nation “Welcome Asia!” road show after having already been to Myanmar, Pakistan and Kazakhstan. It was supposed to head next to Laos and Vietnam.
Sukhoi is Russia’s major aircraft holding company, employing more than 26,000 people.
Read the original report and view large images at the Aviation Herald….
Reporting by Chris Newman
from the original story by the Aviation Herald
11th May, 2012
Related articles
- Sukhoi Superjet 100 starts “Welcome Asia” tour on May 3 (Sukhoi Company Press Release)
- Indonesia Air Crash? – Russian Sukhoi ‘Superjet-100′ lost contact: AV Herald (airportinformer.wordpress.com)
- Indonesia Air Crash – Russian Built Aircraft Hit Mountain: AV Herald (airportinformer.wordpress.com)
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