Russia’s Sukhoi Superjet-100 airplane on a demonstration flight near Jakarta went missing on Wednesday, Indonesian aviation authorities said.

There are 44 people on board, including eight Russians and 36 foreign nationals.

Indonesian authorities suggested the airplane may have been hijacked or crashed into a mountain in poor visibility.

The plane has failed to return to the airport after a demonstration flight.

Shortly before radio contact was lost, 20 minutes after takeoff, the pilots had requested permission to descend from 10,000 feet (3,000 meters) to 6,000 feet (1,800 meters), air traffic controllers said.

After it was cleared for descent the plane started turning right and descending but then disappeared from the radar screens at an altitude of 6,200 feet in a mountainous area, 100-120 kilometers from Jakarta airport.

By the time the plane was due to return it should have burned up its fuel.

© RIA Novosti.

Sukhoi SuperJet-100

Earlier in the day the SSJ-100 carried out two demonstration flights in the Indonesian capital as the manufacturer said Pakistan’s Air Indus has shown an interest in purchasing eight SSJ-100s.

The SSJ-100 arrived in Jakarta as part of a demonstration tour of six Asian countries. It has been to Myanmar, Pakistan and Kazakhstan, and after Indonesia was due to visit Laos and Vietnam.

United Aircraft Corporation said in February Russia will export 10 SSJ-100 airplanes in 2012. The planes will be delivered to Mexico, Indonesia, and Laos in the second half of the year.

So far, only one plane has been exported and that was to Armenia.

Another 10 SSJ 100s will be delivered to domestic airlines Aeroflot and Armavia.

The Superjet 100 is a medium-haul passenger aircraft developed by Sukhoi in cooperation with U.S. and European aviation corporations, including Boeing, Snecma, Thales, Messier Dowty, Liebherr Aerospace and Honeywell.

The aircraft is capable of carrying up to 100 passengers for up to 4,500 kilometers.

In early February SSJ 100 received the Type Certificate from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

Sukhoi has received over 200 firm orders for Superjet 100 airliners so far.