Russia's Superjet makes maiden test flight

Russia's first new passenger
plane since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, the Superjet-100,
took off on its maiden test flight on Monday, inching Moscow
closer to the lucrative regional civil aviation market.
As president, Vladimir Putin spearheaded efforts to revive
Russia's aviation industry through the Superjet-100, a regional
jet which can carry between 75 - 95 passengers but the project
has been hit a series of delays.
"The plane took off at 10 a.m. (0600 GMT) Moscow time, flew
for an hour and then landed," a source at makers Sukhoi Civil
Aviation was quoted as saying by Reuters.
The Superjet will replace Russia's ageing Soviet-made fleet
of Tupolev Tu-134 and Yakovlev Yak-42 planes on domestic routes.