JAKARTA, Indonesia - The crash of a Russian-made passenger jet into the flanks of an Indonesian volcano has put a spotlight on the notoriously informal atmosphere aboard new aircraft during manufacturer demonstrations - known here as "joy flights."
These junkets for potential buyers commonly see passengers join or cancel at the last minute, wreaking havoc to manifest lists. Pilots eager to show off the versatility of their planes often make lightning-fast ascents and buzz famous landmarks.
On Friday, meanwhile, search teams who scaled the volcano's steep slopes found at least 12 bodies Friday near the wreckage of the jetliner, an official said. All 45 aboard the Sukhoi Superjet 100 that crashed Wednesday are feared dead.
With no sign yet of the black boxes, it is not clear what caused the jet to smash into the side of Mount Salak. An investigation by a joint team of Indonesian and Russian experts is expected to take at least a year.
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There is nothing to suggest the pilot did anything wrong. But the disaster is a reminder of the continuing concerns of air-safety specialists about demonstration flights. That's true not just here in Indonesia - where several invitations from Boeing, Bombardier and other manufacturers land on the desks of airline executives and industry experts every year - but globally.
Tom Ballantyne, a Sydney-based aviation expert, has gone on many such trips.
"If they are flying over a landmark, they might circle around it so the passengers can get a better look," he said. "They might fly a little lower or show the rate of climb of the aircraft."
That's not to say they don't follow the rules, he said, or push the planes beyond their capabilities.
"But there's definitely a bit of showing off."
With 240 million people and a rapidly growing middle class hungry for cheap air travel, manufacturers will continue to flock to Indonesia, as evidenced by a purchase late last year by the little-known airline Lion Air: Its order of 230 planes from Boeing Co. was the manufacturer's biggest ever.
