As a long time lurker I won't argue with all your observations on thread arcs; but as an SLF with long-standing interest in aviation accident forensics* I'll chime in anyway. :}

Could this be a case of running afoul of a mountain rotor while sightseeing, a'la BOAC 911 and Mt. Fuji in the 60's?

Back to lurking....

* As a wee lad I was always fascinated by the forensic details teased out of bent metal and recorders as reported in the AvWeeks that Dad would bring home from his IT (or whatever they called it back then) job with EAL.

It is already bad enough as it is. The question however is why would someone descend to below mountain elevation to increase the risk of a CFIT? Everything from then on is speculation.:(

The Journalist on Twitter
 

The Journalist who has been covering the flight info is keeping his tweeter updated for the latest images and info.

I don't speak Russian, but maybe someone can translate?

https://wwww.twitter.com/#!/dolyasergey

Basically it's about waiting for hellys to depart and rechecking possible SAR locations.

P.S Nothing on topic of location/status of a/c unfortunately :(

Looks like a military SAR helo has launched from the latest post on Sergey's blog.

Photographer and others on the flight deck whilst airborn (apparently) on an earlier flight.
How would you rate this scene in terms of a distraction that is capable of effecting flight safety..?
MobileMe Gallery



Apparently showing a few minor dents on a leading edge.
MobileMe Gallery

Why would he descend? Why not

Perhaps to enhance the experience of the passengers/buyers to make it memorable?

Salak is a striking volcano with twin summits cleft by a large valley with steep slopes and a whitewater river running through it with several waterfalls.

I know someone who flew a G-IV at 300 feet around part of the coast line of Borneo for the VVIP on onboard.

Bird strike damage, nothing of import

For Russian to English translations follow @athensoh on the twit.

According to officials, they are searching three areas on Salak, including the crater, which is quite small.

Four Super Pumas are on the way apparently

Mr Dolya just said on Tweeter that the helicopters had found the plane.

Elevation 5200 ft. at gps position of crash was tweeted.

CNN reporting wreckage of plane found near MT.SALAK .......REMOTE AREA of west java.the Indonesian minister made a brief report mentioning the news but no news on survivor or any other details were provided.

Search officail said location is on the edge of a cliff on Mt.
Salak near Cijeruk.

Its not that remote, I was around there in February but a landbased SAR party would take several hours to reach it depending on conditions. Airborne SAR could be there in minutes easily

possibly near summit altitude
 

Sergey's blog has retweeted an assertion that the site is at:

06.42.61.3S 106.44.41.2E

Google Earth gives the terrain height at that location as about 6330 feet above sea level. While the summit is several hundred feet higher, this is pretty high up the slope.

[Later edit: to push the rather odd coordinate representation to something Google Earth could accept I substituted spaces for the first two periods, thinking of dd mm ss.s. I failed at to notice that this meant I was asking for 61.3 seconds! Worse, I failed to notice the truncation Google Earth performed. In short, while I accurately transcribed the coordinates as tweeted, including format, my Google Earth-derived estimate of local terrain elevation is almost certainly spurious. ZeeDoktor's suggestion of the intended coordinate seems a better attempt at translation, though I can't say I can match the site photos to that spot.]

Assuming the coordinates are S 06 42.613 and E 106 44.412, this is the position:

S6.7102 E106.7402 - Google Maps

@ZeeDoktor

If your coordinates are correct the elevation at that point is ~1837m (According to Google Earth) which translates to 6027ft.

IF that Google map position is correct, I guess he was seduced by the dramatic scenery. Did he attempt to fly along the axis of the cleft valley?

I was in the lower part of the valley last year and the slopes further up looked to be 70deg if not more

Dolya posted the first photos of the accident site:
Twitpic / dolyasergey

Impact into a near vertical cliff just under a ridge - very reminescent of the Norwegin herc location, here jungle substituting snow.

If the flight path circling the mountain posted yesterday is correct, it appears to be a case of a low level scenic flight gone wrong. Have been on various manufacturer demonstration flights myself, maneouvres that would not be permissible on a revenue passenger service are routinely performed to impress the press and potential buyers.

Better Pics:

Source:
https://twitter.com/#!/lystseva/stat.../photo/1/large
https://twitter.com/#!/lystseva/stat.../photo/1/large

http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/8...z9caaepnlh.jpg

http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/397...nncqaarwr3.jpg