Kremlin: no decisions on SSJ 100 aircraft operations suspension taken

The decision on potential suspension of SSJ-100 aircraft operations should be taken after the formal investigation of the accident at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"Taking a decision in favor of suspension or maintaining flights of aircraft of this or that model or this or that brand is not the domain of the president. Only experts and special aviation bodies of the Russian Federation can do that," he noted.

"We know that no decisions regarding the issue have been taken yet. Moreover, it is necessary to wait for officials findings of the commission regarding the cause of the flight accident," TASS cited him as saying.

The spokesman recalled that Russian President Vladimir Putin receives reports on Sunday’s crash of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 plane at Sheremetyevo. Peskov urged to focus on the official results of the flight accident investigation.

On May 5, the Sukhoi Superjet 100 plane operated by Aeroflot carrying 73 passengers and five crewmembers bound for Murmansk caught fire after emergency landing at Sheremetyevo shortly after the takeoff. The accident killed 41, nine more were hospitalized.