http://news.detik.com/read/2012/05/...joy-flight-lintasi-wilayah-pegunungan?9911012
a news source (in Indonesian) that discussed about this flight more in detail. An Airliner observer, Samudera Sukardi, has given his insights about this joyflight. He said that normally joyflights are done in the direction of east or north of Jakarta, to avoid the mountain ranges and promising clear visibility for the flight. But this joyflight is peculiar, according to him, because it went south to the general direction of Pelabuhan Ratu, a southern port in the island. He speculated that the descent from 10k to 6k feets was induced by the poor visibility in the area, and the Halim airport has stated to the flight crew that there was heavy rain present in the crash area. He concluded the interview with saying that it is more likely that the accident is caused by a natural or weather factor, rather than human or machinery, given that the test pilot is actually experienced and the hardware was very capable and adhere to the standards.
(This is indeed a paraphrase, and using Google Translate will yield a very different result, but here I'm trying to preserve the contexts)
---------- Post added 05-11-12 at 04:06 PM ---------- Previous post was 05-10-12 at 09:38 PM ----------
http://m.republika.co.id/berita/nas...ufqs-pesawat-sukhoi-hanya-utuh-di-bagian-ekor
http://m.republika.co.id/berita/nas...as-12-korban-sukhoi-ditemukan-meninggal-dunia
Another news, one good and the other bad. Bad news first, after finally reaching the crash site by land (delayed severely by fog) the SAR team announced that they have found 12 bodies, which identities are still not disclosed. The good news is the tail was found intact, unlike the other parts of the airplane, giving good hope that the blackboxes have survived.
On another note the president is still praying for the survival of any of the passengers, which I think is well into the domain of divine intervention.
Vladimir Putin has expressed that Russia wishes to help Indonesia in the investigation.
---------- Post added at 08:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:06 PM ----------
from
Tempo one of the most trustable news source in Indonesia, there's so much articles about this so I'll just paraphrase them all into short sentences
First of all, just as news above has stated, the decision to go south across the mountain ranges is actually not very recommended. Turns out that the region is notorious for crashes and the such.
The SAR have been delayed very much by bad weather and the bodies mentioned before are not in a very good shape, they are scattered all over the place, and it's very difficult to determine which is whose, and the place reeks of death. They have put in the body bags whatever they have found today, and because the area is very remote, they called it a day before it got dark. The SAR team consists of the National SAR of Indonesia and some from the army. Transport by air has been deemed unsafe for the evacuation of the body because of the slope where the crash site is, and because of that any transportation of the bodies and significant parts of the airplane has to be done by land.
One expert said that the decision to descent after the encounter of poor visibility is very peculiar, and he said that this decision might be what proved fatal to the flight. On another note, a team of Russian experts has arrived in Jakarta. Sukhoi has announced that once proven, the family of a victim will be given $50.000 each and more from insurance. It has been said that President Putin has personally given condolences via international line and president SBY has relayed this message to the family of the victims.
---------- Post added at 08:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:34 PM ----------
Some more pictures from the same source as before
Legend:
G.Salak = Mountain Salak
Red Line = Actual route of travel
Black Dashed Line = Planned route of travel
Hilang Kontak = Lost of Contact (the left one is Soekarno-Hatta, and the right is Halim, AFAIK)
The ill-fated airplane in inspection at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport
Indonesian Red Cross in aid for the SAR team
Another angle of the crash site
Photo albums from Tempo
Crash Site
Evacuation
The permission of descent is currently being investigated by the National Committee of Flight Safety since it isn't currently clear whether the permission has been given or not.