MOSCOW, November 22 (RIA Novosti) – Indonesia’s Civil Aviation Authority on Thursday issued an airworthiness certificate to Russia’s Sukhoi Superjet-100 airplane (model RRJ-95B), Sukhoi Civilian Aircraft said.
The certificate allows the jet’s export to Indonesia and its operation by the country’s airlines without restrictions.
“We are now completely ready to supply the aircraft to our first client in Southeast Asia, Indonesian carrier Sky Aviation,” Sukhoi’s First Vice President Igor Vinogradov said.
Sky Aviation has ordered 12 SSJ-100s, the first one of which is to be delivered before the end of the year.
In early May, a SSJ-100 crashed into a mountain while performing a demonstration flight in Indonesia, south of Jakarta with 45 people onboard the aircraft, of whom eight were Russians, including crew members and Sukhoi employees. There were no survivors.
The Superjet 100 is a medium-haul passenger aircraft developed by Sukhoi in cooperation with US and European aviation corporations, including Boeing, Snecma, Thales, Messier Dowty, Liebherr Aerospace and Honeywell.
The aircraft is capable of carrying up to 100 passengers for 4,500 kilometers.
The SSJ 100 received its Type Certificate from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in February.
The RRJ (Russian Regional Jet) project to develop the Sukhoi Superjet 100 airliner (available in two models: regular and extended range, both with 75 or 95 passenger seats), was launched in the early 2000s.
The project was on and off until the first flight took place in May 2008, and deliveries to customers began in 2011. The airliner is manufactured at the main Sukhoi factory in Komsomolsk-on-Amur and is positioned as a new Russian design.
The Russian origin of the aircraft, however, is questionable. In fact, construction materials, fuselage elements, and a set of auxiliary equipment is all there is Russian in it. French SaM-146 engines also were designed jointly with the Saturn research-and-production association. Almost everything else is foreign-made including avionics, electrical system, control systems and even the auxiliary power unit.