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2012 Mount Salak Sukhoi Superjet crash

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2012 Mount Salak Sukhoi Superjet Accident

On 9 May 2012, Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Flight 36801, a Sukhoi Superjet 100 operating a demonstration flight in Indonesia, collided with Mount Salak located in West Java province. The accident resulted in the loss of all 45 individuals on board, including 37 passengers and 8 crew members. The aircraft had departed just minutes earlier from Jakarta's Halim Perdanakusuma Airport on a promotional mission for the newly introduced jet, carrying Sukhoi employees alongside representatives from various Indonesian airlines.

The investigation determined that the pilots were unaware of the mountainous terrain in their flight path and disregarded alerts from the terrain awareness and warning system, mistakenly assuming these warnings were false alarms due to system malfunction. This misjudgment occurred while visibility was severely limited by dense cloud cover. Additionally, it was revealed that during the critical moments before impact, the flight crew, including the captain, were engaged in discussions with potential customers seated in the cockpit. This incident marked both the first fatal crash and the initial hull loss for the Sukhoi Superjet 100 model.

Aircraft

The aircraft involved in the incident was a Sukhoi Superjet 100 bearing the registration number 97004 and manufacturer's serial number (msn) 95004. Produced in 2009, this particular airliner had logged more than 800 flight hours prior to the accident. The Superjet 100 represents Russia's first mass-produced commercial airliner since the dissolution of the USSR in 1991.

Demonstration tour

This aircraft was operating as part of a "Welcome Asia!" promotional tour. Earlier, a different aircraft had successfully completed a demonstration flight in Kazakhstan. However, upon reaching Pakistan, potential customers were only able to view the plane on the tarmac due to an absence of flight activity, reportedly caused by a technical issue. According to Alexander Tulyakov, vice-president of the United Aircraft Corporation, a leak was detected in an engine nozzle on that aircraft while en route to Myanmar, prompting its return to Moscow. Subsequently, the accident aircraft was deployed as a substitute to carry on with the tour. Planned stops included Laos and Vietnam. At the time of this event, Sukhoi had secured 42 orders for this model from Indonesia alone, contributing to a total of 170 orders worldwide, with ambitions to manufacture up to 1,000 units.

Mount Salak

View of Mount Salak as seen from Bogor
Main article: Mount Salak

Between 2002 and 2012, the region surrounding Mount Salak experienced seven aviation accidents. Among these incidents were three fatalities resulting from a training aircraft crash shortly before the Superjet 100 accident; an Indonesian Air Force military aircraft crash in 2008 that claimed 18 lives; and additional crashes causing five deaths in June 2004, two in April 2004, seven in October 2003, and one in October 2002.

The Jakarta Post has referred to Mount Salak as "an airplane graveyard." The area's frequent aviation mishaps are often attributed to intense turbulence and rapidly shifting weather conditions characteristic of its mountainous terrain.

Accident

Template:Location map+

Flight route of 97004
Flight trajectory

At 14:00 local time (07:00 UTC), the SSJ-100 took off from Halim Perdanakusuma Airport for a demonstration flight intended to return to its origin.[1] This marked the aircraft’s second demo flight of that day.[2] Onboard were six crew members, two Sukhoi representatives, and 37 passengers.[3] Among the passengers were delegates from Aviastar Mandiri, Batavia Air, Pelita Air Service, and Sriwijaya Air.[4] At 14:26 (07:26 UTC), the pilots requested clearance to descend from 10,000 feet (3,000 m) to 6,000 feet (1,800 m), which was granted. Two minutes later, they sought and received permission to "orbit to the right."[5] This communication was the last contact with Air Traffic Control[3] as the plane was approximately 75 nautical miles (86 mi; 139 km) south of Jakarta, near 7,254 feet (2,211 m) Mount Salak, which is higher than the assigned flight altitude. Four minutes into the orbit, the aircraft's Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System emitted a "Terrain Ahead, Pull Up" warning, indicating the need to climb to avoid terrain. This alert quickly escalated to an "Avoid Terrain" message, signaling that a turn was also necessary to prevent collision. Despite repeated warnings, the pilots briefly discussed and then deactivated the system, suspecting an error in the terrain database. Within half a minute, the plane’s audio system issued a "Gear Not Down" alert—separate from the EGPWS—indicating proximity to terrain without landing gear deployed. The captain disengaged autopilot and adjusted the nose slightly upward; this action did not align with typical evasive maneuvers, and its intent remains unclear. The captain informed the first officer that autopilot was off, and impact with terrain occurred two seconds later at 14:33 local time (07:33 UTC).[5]

Search efforts commenced both on ground and in air but were suspended after nightfall. The following day, 10 May at 09:00 local time (02:00 UTC), wreckage of the Sukhoi Superjet was located on Mount Salak.Template:Fix/category[citation needed] It is established only that prior to crashing, the aircraft had been flying clockwise around the mountain toward Jakarta.[3][6] Initial findings suggest the plane struck a cliff edge at around 6,270 feet (1,910 m), slid down a slope, and came to rest at approximately 5,200 feet (1,600 m) elevation. Due to its location, aerial access was impossible and rescuers had not reached the site by nightfall on 10 May. Multiple rescue teams embarked on foot attempts to reach the crash site.[3]

Victims

Nationality Passengers Crew Total
Indonesia 35 - 35
Russia - 8 8
United States 1 - 1
France 1 - 1
Total 37 8 45

Among the passengers, the majority were journalists and potential clients. The flight carried a total of 45 individuals, which included 14 personnel from the Indonesian airline Sky Aviation, Captain Aan Husdiana who served as the Director of Operations for Kartika Airlines, and five members of the press: journalist Dody Aviantara and photographer Didik Nur Yusuf from Angkasa aviation magazine; Ismiati Soenarto and Aditya Sukardi representing Trans TV; and Femi Adi from the American news agency Bloomberg. Peter Adler, an experienced pilot holding a US passport, was on board as a consultant and passenger. Additionally, Vladimir Prisyazhnyuk, head of Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, confirmed that two Italians and one French citizen of Vietnamese heritage were among those aboard. The jet’s captain was Alexander Yablontsev (57), a former Russian combat pilot, test pilot, and cosmonaut who had participated in the Buran space program and piloted the Superjet 100’s maiden flight in 2008. The first officer was Alexander Kotchetkov (44), with Oleg Shvetsov (51) serving as flight navigator.

Investigation

The day following the accident, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev established a commission tasked with determining the cause of the crash.Template:Fix/category[citation needed][7] The National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC), Indonesia’s authority for investigating civil aviation incidents, indicated that the analysis of the crash could require up to a year to complete.[8] On 15 May 2012, local media reported that Indonesian authorities declined Russia's request to repatriate the flight data recorder, asserting that Indonesian investigators would lead the inquiry while Russian specialists would only assist.[9] The cockpit voice recorder was recovered on 15 May 2012 approximately 200 metres (660 ft) from the tail section.[10] Subsequently, on 31 May 2012, the flight data recorder was located at a similar distance from the tail section.[11][12]

The Indonesian NTSC published a preliminary report detailing factual observations without assigning a definitive cause for the accident.[13] Sources within the investigation team revealed that the aircraft was mechanically sound and attributed the incident primarily to human error.[14][15]

The conclusive report was published on 18 December 2012.[5] Investigators concluded that the aircraft’s terrain awareness warning system was operational and had alerted the flight crew about an imminent collision with terrain. Nevertheless, the pilots disabled this system, mistakenly believing it was malfunctioning despite limited visibility caused by dense cloud cover.[16] Additionally, distractions from non-flight-related conversations in the cockpit contributed to their failure to recognize the danger. The inquiry also revealed that the crew lacked adequate terrain awareness due to missing appropriate charts for the region. Other factors included the absence of a Minimum Safe Altitude Warning System at the airport and an overburdened air traffic controller who failed to detect the impending accident.[17][18]

Aftermath

Mural in Solo honoring the incident

Following the accident, Indonesian airline Sky Aviation postponed the receipt of 12 Superjet 100 aircraft.[19] Arifin Seman, commissioner of another Indonesian carrier, Kartika Airlines, indicated that the delivery schedule for the 30 Superjet 100s ordered by his company was expected to be postponed as a result of the crash.[20] Nonetheless, a few days later, Sky Aviation issued a statement denying any intention to cancel their agreement. Additionally, Sutito Zainuddin, Sky Aviation’s general manager for promotion, emphasized that "the additional 100-seat planes would be needed to connect major cities in Indonesia, particularly Jakarta".[21] Meanwhile, Miguel Alemán Velasco, chairman of Mexico’s Interjet, stated that the crash did not affect the company’s interest in acquiring more Superjet aircraft.Template:Fix/category[citation needed]

At the time of the accident, only Russian airline Aeroflot and Armenian carrier Armavia operated the SSJ-100; however, neither airline halted flights using this model.[22] Armavia confirmed it would proceed with discussions concerning acquiring an additional Superjet 100 for its fleet, although the airline ultimately ceased operations in 2013.[23]

In popular culture

The accident was featured in the 2018 installment titled Deadly Display of the documentary series Mayday.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named BBC18004097
  2. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named CNN
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named AH44f464f7
  4. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named ASN090512
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "NTSC Final Aircraft Accident Investigation Report, Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company, Sukhoi RRJ–95B; 97004" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Committee. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 January 2013.
  6. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named BBC18015534
  7. ↑ "Russian Airliner Wreckage Found; No Survivors". ABC News. 2012-05-10. Retrieved 2025-11-07.
  8. ↑ Расследование причин катастрофы Sukhoi Superjet-100 займет до года [The investigation of the causes of the Sukhoi Superjet-100 disaster will take up to a year]. Lenta.ru (in русский). 11 May 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
  9. ↑ "Indonesia to solely probe black box". China Daily. chinadaily.com.cn. 15 May 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
  10. ↑ Kotarumalos, Ali (16 May 2012). "Damaged black box key to Russian jet crash mystery". Contributed to by Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow. Christian Science Monitor. Associated Press. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  11. ↑ Найден параметрический регистратор разбившегося SSJ-100 в Индонезии [The flight data recorder of Superjet-100 crashed in Indonesia found]. РИА Новости (in русский). RIA Novosti. 31 May 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  12. ↑ Kusumadewi, Anggi; et al. (4 June 2012). "Warga Penemu FDR Sukhoi Terima Penghargaan" [Citizen Founder of FDR Sukhoi Receives Award]. VIVAnews (in Bahasa Indonesia). Archived from the original on 10 February 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  13. ↑ "NTSC Preliminary Aircraft Accident Investigation Report, Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company, Sukhoi RRJ–95B; 97004" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Committee. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 July 2013.
  14. ↑ "Russia Admits Guilt of SSJ Crew for Indonesia Crash". Kommersant. RIA Novosti. 20 September 2012. Archived from the original on 6 May 2013.
  15. ↑ "Human error behind Russia's SSJ-100 May crash in Indonesia". Archived from the original on 24 November 2012.
  16. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named fsf2015
  17. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Niles18Dec12
  18. ↑ "Indonesia blames pilot, radar for Russian Sukhoi crash". Reuters. 18 December 2012. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  19. ↑ "Sky Aviation delays its Sukhoi order". The Jakarta Post. 15 May 2012. Archived from the original on 20 May 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  20. ↑ "Kartika Airlines may delay Sukhoi aircraft delivery". The Jakarta Post. 10 May 2012. Archived from the original on 12 May 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2012. An executive of Indonesian domestic carrier PT Kartika Airlines says that the delivery of 30 Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft that his company ordered will likely be delayed following the plane crash on Wednesday night. Arifin Seman, the commissioner of the Jakarta-based Kartika Airlines, said late on Wednesday that his office would give the Russian aircraft maker Sukhoi a chance to investigate the cause of the incident. The first delivery of the Sukhoi aircraft was scheduled for September this year.
  21. ↑ "Sky Aviation's exec denies Sukhoi's purchase cancellation". The Jakarta Post. 16 May 2012. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  22. ↑ "Показательный полет" [Demonstration flight]. Lenta.ru. 10 May 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
  23. ↑ «Армавиа» продолжит переговоры о покупке второго самолета SuperJet-100 [Armavia will continue negotiations on the purchase of a second SuperJet-100 aircraft]. mir24.tv (in русский). 10 May 2012. Archived from the original on 14 May 2012.

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2012 Mount Salak Sukhoi Superjet crash.

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