A Russian regional airline said Monday that it has canceled plans to buy 10 Sukhoi Superjet 100s, the same model of plane that was involved in the fiery crash landing at a Moscow airport Sunday that killed 41 people. Reuters reports that Vasily Kryuk, Yamal Airlines’ general director, claimed the company changed its plans because the Superjet’s servicing costs were too high. The airline’s decision came just hours after Russia’s transport minister claimed that the crash, in which the plane skidded across the tarmac with the back half engulfed in flames, gave no reason to ground the Russian-made aircraft. Yamal Airlines is currently Russia’s second-largest operator of the aircraft; Aeroflot, the largest operator, was the airline involved in the Moscow crash.
