Russian jet goes missing with 44 on board.

A Russian passenger jet with at least 44 people on board went missing on Wednesday during a demonstration flight in Indonesia. Sukhoi Superjet-100 disappeared from radar screens during a flight from Jakarta meant to last about 30 minutes.

Of those onboard, eight are Russians. The other 36 are believed to be Indonesians, most of them working for airlines considering buying the SSJ 100, according to RT. Radio and telephone contact have been lost with the jet, officials said.

According to CNN, the aircraft went missing at about 2 p.m. local time. Pilots requested permission to descend from 10,000 feet to 6,000 feet, but air traffic controllers lost radio contact. "The plane began making its descent but vanished from radar screens at 6,200 feet in a mountainous area," CNN reported.

The demonstration flight-the second of the day-was part of a tour of six Asian countries. The Superjet 100 was the first commercial airliner produced by Sukhoi, a military plane manufacturer. The mid-size jet can carry up to 103 people. Sukhoi plans to produce 1,000 superjets.
Armenia was the first country to buy a Sukhoi superjet.