Sheremetyevo Superjet 100 in flames

[GordonR_Cape]

Originally Posted by andrasz

I will make a feeble attempt to hijack this thread and return to the OT:
Kommersant has a fairly long and detailed article on the state of the investigation, alegedly from insider sources: https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/3962418#id1743216
While too long to translate and re-post, the key contents:
Investigation is focusing on the actons of the pilots, in particular:
- their decision to fly into a zone of increment weather
- their decision to return immediately (the airplane was perfectly flyable in direct law, burning off fuel would have been an option to avoid an overweight landing)
- the approach and touchdown (30kph too fast, first touchdown 1000m beyond threshold, improper recovery technique after first bounce)
It appears that crew did manage to communicate on 121.5, but reception was very poor with constant interruptions.
It also appears likely that those seated in the rear of the plane suffered injuries during the final hard touchdown which would have prevented them from being able to evacuate without assistance.

In addition, the investigation is looking at the ARFF response. Alarm was only raised when the aircraft caught fire on the runway, and corresponding response times were adequate. However the question remains why the alarm was not raised earlier, knowing that an emergency was in progress. (Apparently this could have been a case of bureucratc legacy of soviet times, only seven high ranking airport oficials have the authority to order an alert stage, not the tower controler himself ).

Pretty much the same issues that were raised already on this forum.

Thanks for the report. My question:
Is there any investigation into why a lightning strike could have crippled a modern aircraft design?
I don't expect an answer, but in the long run, this may turn out to highlight broader issues than the actions of the pilots.

Google translate does a reasonable job. Seems they are in denial mode already:

Igor Vinogradov, vice-president of Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company, told Kommersant that during SSJ tests it was checked for lightning strikes. According to their results, it was found that lightning does not lead to fires on the aircraft and the loss of its control. Another source of “Kommersant” in the company noted that during the operation of the SSJ 100, lightning hit them 13 times, but none of these incidents affected the operation of the [car] in the air.