JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A Russian-made plane carrying 46 people lost contact with air controllers while flying over mountains during a demonstration flight today in western Indonesia, officials said.
Search and rescue teams were heading to the area, said Bambang Ervan, a spokesman for the Ministry of Transportation. Bad weather, however, forced at least two helicopters to turn back.
The Sukhoi Superjet-100, a civilian plane, took off from Jakarta’s Halim Perdanakusuma Airport at 2 p.m. and was scheduled to return 50 minutes later.
Air controllers lost contact after the crew asked permission to descend from 10,000 feet to 6,000 feet near the Salak mountains in West Java province, said Rear Marshal Daryatmo, chief of the national search and rescue agency.
Several diplomats from the Russian Embassy, potential buyers from several Indonesian airline companies and journalists were among the 38 passengers on board, said Rear Marshal Daryatmo, another search and rescue official.
The Times Record Sustaining Sponsor
We believe a community must be informed to thrive. bowdoin.edu
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less