Indonesia green lights Russia's Sukhoi jet

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- Indonesia has certified a Russian-made passenger jetliner as safe to fly six months after the same model crashed into a volcano during a demonstration flight.

Transportation Ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan said Wednesday that the country's general directorate of civil aviation last week deemed the Sukhoi Superjet-100 airworthy.

Ervan says the certification was based on a long and careful validation process and has nothing to do with an ongoing crash investigation.

In May, a Sukhoi Superjet-100 crashed into a jagged Indonesian volcano during a demonstration flight to impress potential buyers, killing all 45 people aboard.

The certification will allow delivery of the aircraft to its first customer in Southeast Asia, the Indonesian airline Sky Aviation, which has signed a deal for 12 planes.