http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/09/world/asia/indonesia-plane/index.html?hpt=hp_t2Jakarta, Indonesia (CNN) -- A Russian passenger airliner went missing Wednesday after it disappeared from radar screens over a mountainous region of Indonesia.
The Sukhoi Superjet 100,
Russia's newest civilian airliner, was carrying 42 passengers and eight
Russian crew members, said Sunaryo, an official with Sukhoi's Indonesian
agent, Trimarga Rekatama.
However, the number was
in dispute. The Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency said only
37 of the 42 invited passengers were on board. Russian state-run news
agencies reported 44 people were on the plane.
The plane was on its second demonstration flight Wednesday when it lost contact with air controllers at Jakarta's Halim Perdanakusuma Airport.
"The first demonstration flight in the morning went smoothly," said Sunaryo, who uses only one name. "There were no problems."
On the second flight, the plane began making its descent but vanished from radar screens at 6,200 feet in a mountainous area.
The plane lost contact
with air traffic controllers at 2:12 p.m., 21 minutes after taking off,
said Marsda Daryatmo, head of the search and rescue agency. Two
helicopters were immediately sent out to search for the plane but had to
return to their bases due to strong winds and unpredictable weather.
Ground teams were continuing to search. The air search will resume at daylight, depending on the weather, Daryatmo said.
The plane was flying over Mount Salak, a volcano south of Jakarta, and was presumed to have crashed.
The Sukhoi jet arrived
in Jakarta as part of a demonstration tour of six Asian countries. It
had been to Myanmar, Pakistan and Kazakhstan, and was due to visit Laos
and Vietnam after Indonesia, said the Russian news agency RIA Novosti.
Sukhoi manufactures
military aircraft and is known especially for its fighter jets. Its
civilian aircraft is narrow-bodied with a dual-class cabin that can
transport 100 passengers over regional routes. It flew its maiden flight
in 2008.
In March, a Superjet 100
operated by Russia's Aeroflot Airlines was forced to abandon its flight
to Astrakhan, Russia, and return to Moscow because of problems with the
undercarriage, according to RIA Novosti.
A similar defect in another Aeroflot-operated Superjet 100 plane had to be fixed in Minsk in December.
Russia's state-run United Aircraft Corp. said the defect did not affect passenger safety.
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