Nearly one fifth of active Superjet 100 aircraft have been grounded over a technical issue, the plane's Russian maker said today.
After a general inspection ordered by Russian aviation authorities last month, aerospace giant Sukhoi launched a replacement program for stabiliser parts on certain SSJ-100 aircraft, a model launched in 2011 that is used by several Russian airlines as well as Mexico's Interjet and Ireland's CityJet.
"The repair works are in process now and by the end of January the problem will be fully resolved," Sukhoi Civil Aircraft said in a statement.
The statement said that 16 SSJ-100 aircraft were under repair, a figure that represents 20 percent of the whole fleet.
Russian authorities last month ordered all Superjet SSJ-100 aircraft to be inspected after a technical defect was discovered in the stabiliser attachment bands of one aircraft.
Sukhoi said at the time that the problem was "not of a systemic nature and can be eliminated within a few days."
Russia's aviation agency in 2013 grounded the Superjets -- which have had technical issues with landing gear and leak detection systems since they came into service in 2011 -- before allowing them to resume flights.
A Superjet performing at an Indonesian air show in 2012 slammed into a volcano, killing all 45 on board, in a crash Indonesia blamed on pilot error.
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