Russia’s Sukhoi Civil Aircraft (GSS), developer of the Superjet SSJ100 airliner, is to study its procedures for preparing pilots for display flights in SSJ100s at the recommendation of Indonesia’s National Transport Security Committee (NTSC), a Sukhoi representative said on Wednesday.
“Sukhoi, taking into account the recommendations, will carry out a detailed analysis of the procedures for preparing aircrew for display flights, so that they are informed about weather conditions, terrain and presence of birds in the flight zone when they file a flight plan, especially in mountainous areas,” Sukhoi said.
The NTSC has not published any additional recommendations for SSJ operations other than those existing, Sukhoi said. “The existing documentation remains in force, and should be followed,” the Sukhoi representative said.
Earlir this week, Indonesia’s National Transport Security Committee recommended Sukhoi 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.
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, Russian daily 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 paper said.