Jakarta awaits deciphering equipment for Sukhoi jet black box

PanARMENIAN.Net - Deciphering equipment for the voice recorder of a crashed Russian passenger jet will be delivered to Jakarta from Moscow on Thursday, May 17 morning, the Russian Industry and Trade Ministry said, RIA Novosti reported.

The Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ-100) passenger jet slammed into a steep side of Indonesia’s Mount Salak near Jakarta shortly after takeoff on a demonstration flight on May 9. All 45 people on board were killed.

According to Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Yury Slyusar, the recorder taped the last two hours of conversation in the cockpit.

The Indonesian military said the black box was severely damaged by the crash and only contained the cockpit voice recorder. It did not contain the vital flight data recorder, which is still missing.

Investigators are now looking for the flight data recorder, which will give them vital clues about the workings of the aircraft’s engines, controls and systems and its speed, height and attitude when it crashed.

The Sukhoi Superjet is the first commercial plane to be designed and built in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union two decades ago.

The aircraft is considered by many in the industry to be Russia's last hope for maintaining a commercial aircraft manufacturing capability. Built in partnership with Italy's Alenia Aeronautica, the aircraft has a high percentage of foreign-built components and subsystems.