Indonesian airlines Sky Aviation delays its Sukhoi plane order

Jakarta, May 15 (Xinhua-ANI): Following the Sukhoi Superjet 100 airliner's crash, an official from the Indonesian carrier PT Sky Aviation affirmed on Tuesday that the company will re-evaluate its contract with Sukhoi Civil Aircraft over the purchase of 12 airplanes, local media reported.

Sky Aviation's safety manager, Sukamto, said on Tuesday that the accident had triggered the company to delay the delivery of the ordered aircraft.

"We will wait for the results of the ongoing investigation into the cause of the accident before we take the next step," he said as quoted by the Kompas.com.

According to Sukamto, officials from the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) have confirmed that the air crash investigation would take one year to complete.

Earlier, an official statement from the Russian Embassy in Jakarta confirmed that the contract was signed during the International Aviation and Space Salon MAKS-2011 in Zhukovsky, Russia, on Aug. 16, 2011. The contract was valued 380.4 million U. S. dollars.

Last week, an executive at Indonesian domestic carrier PT Kartika Airlines said that the delivery of 30 Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft that his company had ordered would also likely be delayed following the plane crash.

Another Indonesian carrier, Queen Air, which has ordered six Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft, has yet to confirm whether they will cancel their order.

A Sukhoi Superjet 100 jetliner crashed during a promotion flight in the slope of Mt. Salak, West Java, on May 9, to demonstrate its airworthiness to potential Indonesian customers, killing all the 45 people on board. It is the first deadly accident since the introduction of the Russian iconic passenger plane into the southeast Asian country.

Sukhoi Superjet 100, the first passenger version developed by Russian fighter jet maker Sukhoi after the fall of the Soviet Union, is highly expected to drum up Russia's passenger plane business to contribute to the country's exports. (Xinhua-ANI)