Indonesia’s National Transport Security Committee has recommended to Russia’s Sukhoi, maker of the SSJ-100 airliner, that it conduct additional crew training for pilots undertaking demonstration flights, particularly in mountainous terrain, following an investigation into a crash earlier this year that killed 45 people.
The recommendation is another sign that the fatal accident was caused by aircrew error.
An SSJ-100 crashed into a mountainside in Indonesia on May 9 during a demonstration flight, whilst a Russian crew was showing the aircraft to local airline executives.
“We recommend Sukhoi Civil Aircraft look again at their existing procedures and preparation for demonstration flight, and where necessary, introduce changes and also organize additional training for crews carrying out demonstration flights, particulary in mountainous terrain,” NTSC said in a document obtained by RIA Novosti.
Last week, Mikhail Pogosyan, head of Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation, said there was nothing wrong with the aircraft at the time of the accident.
Earlier this month, a Russian Moskovsky Komsomolets claimed the aircraft crashed because of a dangerous maneuver performed by the pilot, citing a source close to the investigation.
Data from the cockpit voice recorder suggested the plane’s navigator had alerted pilot Alexander Yablonstev to an approaching mountainside, but he carried on regardless, a source told the Moskovsky Komsomolets tabloid.
Yablontsev also appeared to ignore the jet’s Terrain Warning and Awareness System, the source said.