By Lukas I. Alpert
MOSCOW--The crash of a Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100 during a test
flight in Iceland has no bearing on the jet's commercial use
because the type of landing involved is not currently performed by
airlines operating the plane, the aircraft's manufacturer said
Monday.
The plane made a belly-landing at Rekjavik's Keflavik
International Airport early Sunday morning during a certification
test in which the pilots relied on the jet's fully automated
landing system while coping with heavy crosswinds and a simulated
failure of one of its engines.
Airlines using the plane currently do not perform fully
automated landings, said manufacturer Sukhoi Civil Aircraft.
The plane was carrying three crewmembers and two certification
experts, one of whom broke his leg while disembarking from the
aircraft. The other four were not hurt.
The accident comes little more than a year after a fatal
accident with another aircraft on a demonstration flight that
killed 45 in Indonesia.
The manufacturer said the plane is being extensively tested
under a variety of conditions for additional certification for
instrument landing in which a pilot uses indicators and gauges to
land rather than visual cues when visibility is poor. The company
said the plane has already been successfully tested for 250
different kinds of landings under similar conditions.
"Test flights to evaluate the performance of the automatic
landing system with strong crosswind conditions are the most
complicated part of the trials. Their purpose is to prevent
possible in-flight emergency situations. The test flights
conditions are in close proximity with extreme flight regimes in
order to identify limits of safe operations of the aircraft," the
company said in a statement.
Keflavik Airport is known for its heavy crosswinds and
frequently draws test aircraft from Boeing Co. (BA) and Airbus to
perform dramatic landings under extreme wind conditions.
The all-new Sukhoi jetliner, which entered service in 2011, is
the first civilian aircraft developed in Russia since the fall of
the Soviet Union and is the centerpiece of the country's efforts to
reassert itself as a global force in civil aviation. The Superjet
can carry about 100 people and is offered at a lower price than
similar aircraft built by Brazil's Embraer SA (ERJ) and Canada's
Bombardier Inc. (BBD.A.T), but has had trouble attracting
customers.
Sukhoi Civil Aircraft said earlier this month that it is in
talks for possible restructuring of its $2 billion debt.
Write to Lukas I. Alpert at lukas.alpert@dowjones.com
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