Weather hampers plane crash mission
- 12 years ago
PLEASE NOTE: EDIT CONTAINS CONVERTED 4:3 MATERIAL
Indonesia deployed more than 1, 000 personnel on Friday to boost the search and rescue operation at the scene of the Russian Sukhoi plane crash.
Their efforts to reach the site high up on a volcano are being hampered by bad weather.
SOUNDBITE: OPERATION CO-ORDINATOR KETUT PURWA SAYING (Bahasa Indonesia):
"The helicopter flew around the surrounding area but was not able to find a spot to land, the wind was too strong with thick fog. Up to now we have not received any news from our personnel on the ground there either, we're still waiting for news from them."
The Superjet 100 vanished from Indonesian radar screens on Wednesday about 60 kilometres south of Jakarta.
It went down on an exhibition flight with 45 people on board.
Rescue teams say they've seen bodies but no survivors.
Indonesia's president has been visiting families of the victims.
They included Indonesian reporters and business people.
Eight Russians, two Italians, a French national and an American are also among the dead.
Russian state television on Thursday showed archive video of a Sukhoi Superjet plane during a successful test flight.
Sukhoi's chief pilot Alexander Yablontsev is seen praising the aircraft and the reliability of its engines.
The company says Yablontsev was piloting the plane which crashed in Indonesia.
The crash, during a mission to drum up foreign sales, could be a blow to Russia's attempt to revive its aerospace industry.
A senior Russian official's suggested pilot error was to blame.
Safety analysts say it's far too early to tell.
Paul Chapman, Reuters
Indonesia deployed more than 1, 000 personnel on Friday to boost the search and rescue operation at the scene of the Russian Sukhoi plane crash.
Their efforts to reach the site high up on a volcano are being hampered by bad weather.
SOUNDBITE: OPERATION CO-ORDINATOR KETUT PURWA SAYING (Bahasa Indonesia):
"The helicopter flew around the surrounding area but was not able to find a spot to land, the wind was too strong with thick fog. Up to now we have not received any news from our personnel on the ground there either, we're still waiting for news from them."
The Superjet 100 vanished from Indonesian radar screens on Wednesday about 60 kilometres south of Jakarta.
It went down on an exhibition flight with 45 people on board.
Rescue teams say they've seen bodies but no survivors.
Indonesia's president has been visiting families of the victims.
They included Indonesian reporters and business people.
Eight Russians, two Italians, a French national and an American are also among the dead.
Russian state television on Thursday showed archive video of a Sukhoi Superjet plane during a successful test flight.
Sukhoi's chief pilot Alexander Yablontsev is seen praising the aircraft and the reliability of its engines.
The company says Yablontsev was piloting the plane which crashed in Indonesia.
The crash, during a mission to drum up foreign sales, could be a blow to Russia's attempt to revive its aerospace industry.
A senior Russian official's suggested pilot error was to blame.
Safety analysts say it's far too early to tell.
Paul Chapman, Reuters