Pilot Disregarded Safety Warning In Sukhoi Superjet Indonesia Crash

The Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee has blamed pilot error in the Sukhoi RRJ-95B aircraft crash that killed 45 people in May. The investigation concluded that the crew was not aware of the mountainous area surrounding the flight path due to various factors resulting in disregarding the Terrain Awareness Warning System (TAWS) warning. Factors contributing to the crash include the Jakarta Radar service not being able to establish the minimum vectoring altitudes and the system was not equipped with functioning MSAW for the particular area surrounding Mount Salak. And finally, distraction to the flight crew from prolonged conversation not related to the progress of the flight resulted in the pilot flying did not continue to change the aircraft heading while in orbit. Consequently, the aircraft unintentionally exited the orbit, according to a NTSC statement. Passengers of the ill-fated flight consisted of two pilots, one navigator, one test flight engineer, and 41 passengers including 34 Indonesian, one American and one French nationality. Russia also launched its own investigation, and a fact-finding committee revealed that there were indications that safety standards were violated in the demonstration flight.