Manturov noted that the competition in production of regional aircraft is quite serious, but the production of SSJ-100 aircraft has already been brought to "a certain level."

"Why do we have to cut production? Has anyone refused to buy the aircraft? No production cuts are planned," he said.

SOCHI, May 15 /TASS/. Russia’s Industry and Trade Ministry is not planning to reduce the production of the Sukhoi Superjet-100 (SSJ-100) aircraft, Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov told reporters.

Speaking about the versions of the SSJ-100 crash at the Sheremetyevo airport, the minister noted that it would not be appropriate for him to comment on this issue. "We have authorized agencies for this," he stressed.

"As for the suspension of flights, we do not take such a decision," he said adding that there are no prerequisites for such a decision.

The Sukhoi Superjet-100 has a European certificate, the ex-designer said. "At Sheremetyevo, the airliner actually fell from a height of a three-storey building: no airliner existing today would have endured such a landing," he said.

A Sukhoi Superjet-100 of the Aeroflot airline, which took off from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo for Murmansk on May 5, had to return to the airport in about 30 minutes after its flight, making an emergency landing and bursting into flames. There were 73 passengers and five crewmembers aboard the plane. A total of 41 people died in the air crash while 10 others were hospitalized.

Investigators have opened a criminal case into the violation of flight safety rules and aircraft operation that entailed the death of two and more people through negligence. Investigators are considering several versions of the incident, including the pilots’ insufficient skills, a technical failure and unfavorable weather conditions.