May 02, 2019

Why the only Russia-designed jet faces uncertain future

located:	Russia
editor:	Igor Serebryany

UPDATE

On Sunday (May,5), the SSJ-100 operated by the flagship Aeroflot airline aborted its flight from Moscow to northen city of Murmansk after reportedly being struck by a lightning. According to preliminary investigation, all the aircraft's electronic systems went down and the pilots had to land the plane manually, in a so-called direct mode. As a result, the plane broke its landing gear at the touchdown and hit the runway with its belly still full of fuel. At least 41 passenger out of 78 onboard died in the fire-engulfed hull before firefighters had arrived. Nine more passengers have been hospitalized.

The tragic incident caused outcry in Russia with a petition launched at the Change.org calling for permanent grounding of all SSJ-100 planes and disbanding its prodiction company Sukhoi Civil Aircraft (or GSS).

Despite the chain of incidents, Russian Ministry of Transportation, as well as GSS, deny responsibility for any of them and insist no ban on SSJ-100 operations to be introduced. "There are no reasons [for such a ban]", head of the ministry Eugeny Ditrikh said on Monday (May,6).

The only 100-percent Russia-designed and built passenger aircraft, Sukhoi SuperJet – 100, faces an uncertain future following two identical incidents within less than 24 hours.

On Friday (April, 26), the Aeroflot operated SSJ-100 en route from Riga to Moscow sent SOS squawk and returned to the Latvian capital. The crew reported the cabin decompression.

On Saturday (April, 27), an SSJ-100 operated by the same carrier en route from Moscow to Volgograd, also aborted the flight and returned to the point of origin thirty minutes after take-off. The crew reported a similar emergency.

No one was hurt in both cases but the chain of identical accidents raises the question of if the Sukhoi SuperJet is a safe aircraft to fly with. Two incidents added black paint to already ill-fated aircraft’s short history.

Russia represents the SSJ-100 as a technological breakthrough, highlighting that it is the first aircraft fully designed and produced from scratch, not just an upgrade of a Soviet-designed aeroplane.

Up until now, one hundred and eighteen planes of that design have been produced and leased to the Russian and foreign carriers (in particular, in Mexico, Ireland and Belgium). Still, no owner has been happy with the deal.

Sukhoi Civil Aircraft (GSS) expectedly denies any problems with its jets. Its official speaker Andrei Muravyov said on Monday that GSS has not been aware of any complaints the Aeroflot lodged over the two incidents. He added that it is up to the carriers to maintain and repair their fleet.

Life shows it is not enough to just design a brand new plane. The leaseholders face major difficulties obtaining spare parts, providing ground servicing and even translating the technical documentation from the Russian language, an analyst in the “Aviaport Services” company Oleg Panteleev says.