Aviation News - February 2016 UK

R

ussia has a long and proud history

when it comes to producing

airliners. The latest is the Sukhoi

Superjet 100, a regional aircraft

with seating for up to 103 passengers and a

769cu ft (22m^3 ) cargo capacity.

From the hot and high conditions of

Mexico to the extreme freezing temperatures

of the far east of Russia, the Superjet is

slowly growing its reputation as a capable

and comfortable airliner.

Designed and built by the Sukhoi Civil

Aircraft Company (SCAC), a Sukhoi Aviation

Holding and Finmeccanica-Alenia Aermacchi

company, the prototype SSJ100 was rolled

out from the company’s Komsomolsk-on-

Amur  nal assembly plant in September

2007, making its  rst  ight on May 19 the

following year.

In January 2011 the SSJ100 obtained

its Interstate Aviation Committee AR Type

Certi cate in Russia and 11 months later the

SSJ100-95B (B for Basic) was awarded its

Type Certi cate from the European Aviation

Safety Agency (EASA).

SCAC’s original plans called for a

family of three aircraft – a 60-seater, a

75-seater and a 95-seater. However, during

development it was apparent that demand

for the 60-seat variant had dried up and the

idea was shelved. The 75-seat model met

the same fate not long after SCAC delivered

the initial SSJ100-95.

The type’s  rst commercial  ight took

place on April 21, 2011 when launch

customer Armavia  ew EK-95015 (c/n

95007) from Zvartnots International Airport

in the Armenian capital Yerevan, to Moscow’s

Sheremetyevo International Airport.

The Superjet’s darkest hour came on May

9, 2012 when 97004 (c/n 95004) crashed

into the side of Mount Salak in Indonesia

while conducting a demonstration  ight

with the loss of all 45 people on board.

The  nal report from Indonesia’s National

Transportation Safety Committee said that,

“there was no evidence that the aircraft had

any system malfunction during the  ight” and

the crash was attributed to human error.

ITALIAN COLLABORATION

Sukhoi Aviation Holding and Italy’s

Finmeccanica Group signed a general

agreement in June 2007, establishing a

strategic partnership which resulted in

SuperJet International (SJI) being formed.

SuperJet International is 51% owned by

Alenia Aermacchi and 49% by Sukhoi

Aviation Holding and is based in Venice

at Marco Polo International Airport. It

Aviation News Assistant Editor James Ronayne

profi les the Russian regional jet with global ambitions.

SUKHOI SUPERJET

RUSSIA’S RISING STAR

42 Aviation News incorporating Classic Aircraft February 2016

Above: One of the Sukhoi Superjet’s biggest

success stories has been in Mexico with

low-cost carrier Interjet. The airline has

ordered 30 aircraft and uses them on

domestic and international services.

SJI/Caliaro Luigino

42-47_superjet.JR.mfJR.mfJR.mf.indd 42 05/01/2016 17:27