Russian Military plane crashes

[Grayfox]

Debris from a Russian military plane carrying 91 people that had disappeared from radars has been found in the Black Sea, local news agencies quoted the defence ministry as saying today.

"Fragments of the Tu-154 plane of the Russian defence ministry were found 1.5 kilometres from the Black Sea coast of the city of Sochi at a depth of 50 to 70 metres," the ministry said.

A famed military band was also on board the plane, which disappeared over the Black Sea shortly after takeoff from the resort town of Sochi.

The ministry says the military band were set to perform a concert at the Russian air base in Syria.

A total of 83 passengers and eight crew were on board when the plane dropped off radar.

Emergency services are searching for the plane, a Soviet-designed three-engine airliner, the ministry said.

Nine journalists were among the passengers, according to the Interfax news agency.

Russian media reports say the plane disappeared over the sea a few minutes after takeoff.

Interfax reported that the rescuers already have determined the location of the crash, but there has been no official confirmation.

Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu was personally co-ordinating the rescue efforts, and President Vladimir Putin has received official reports on the incident.

http://www.9news.com.au/world/2016/...from-radar?app=9NewsAlerts&tags=MajorBreaking

 

[TenEightyOne]

The plane has a terrible safety record. A very sad incident

 

[Grayfox]

UPDATE

No survivors after Syria-bound Russian jet carrying 92 crashes


A Russian military plane heading to Syria crashed into the Black Sea on Sunday, with no sign of survivors among the 92 on board, including Red Army Choir members on their way to celebrate the New Year with troops.

The Tu-154 plane went down shortly after taking off from the southern city of Adler where it had been refuelling, defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a briefing broadcast on the ministry's website.

It disappeared from radar just two minutes after it took off at 5.25am local time yesterday (1pm AEDT).

The ministry told agencies there was no sign of any survivors at the crash site and that 10 bodies had been recovered off the coast of the resort city of Sochi, as authorities pledged to dispatch more than 100 divers to aid in the search.

"Fragments of the Tu-154 plane of the Russian defence ministry were found 1.5km from the Black Sea coast of the city of Sochi at a depth of 50 to 70m," the ministry said.

President Vladimir Putin told state television that Russia will observe a national day of mourning on Monday.

The plane had been on a routine flight to Russia's Hmeimim air base in western Syria, which has been used to launch air strikes in Moscow's military campaign supporting its ally President Bashar al-Assad in the country's devastating civil war.

Among the plane's 84 passengers were Russian servicemen as well as 64 members of the Alexandrov Ensemble, the army's official musical group also known as the Red Army Choir, and its conductor Valery Khalilov. They were headed to Syria to participate in New Year celebrations at the air base.

Authorities have not put forward any possible causes of the crash.

A number of unnamed sources have provided news agencies with conflicting theories about the crash, but terrorism has so far not been invoked as a possible cause.

The passengers also included nine journalists, with state-run channels Pervy Kanal, NTV and Zvezda saying they each had three staff onboard the flight.

There were also eight crew members, the ministry said.
Rescuers unload fragments and remains from a boat, found at the site of the Tu-154 plane crash near Sochi, Russia, December 25, 2016. (AFP)

Rescuers unload fragments and remains from a boat, found at the site of the Tu-154 plane crash near Sochi, Russia, December 25, 2016. (AFP)

A list of passengers published by the defence ministry also included Elizaveta Glinka, a doctor and charity worker who serves on the Kremlin human rights council.

Probing cause of crash

Mikhail Fedotov, who heads the council, said Glinka was travelling to Syria to bring medication to a university hospital in the coastal city of Latakia near the air base, agencies reported.

Mr Assad, as well as German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and the US Embassy in Moscow, expressed condolences over the crash.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Mr Putin was being kept updated on the search operation and was in constant contact with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.

Mr Konashenkov said that deputy defence minister Pavel Popov had flown to Adler along with a team tasked with clarifying the circumstances surrounding the crash.

He later added that 32 ships, 80 divers, five helicopters and drones had been dispatched to the area to take part in the search operation.

Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov, who is heading a state commission probing the crash, arrived in Sochi on Sunday evening, his ministry said, adding that the bodies recovered from the crash site would be sent to Moscow for identification.

Mr Konashenkov said that the aircraft had been in service since 1983 and had flown some 7000 hours since. The plane last underwent repairs in December 2014 and was serviced in September, he said.

Russia's Investigative Committee said a criminal probe had been launched to determine whether violations of air transportation safety had led to the crash.

Indefinite deployment

Investigators are currently questioning the technical personnel responsible for preparing the plane for take-off, the committee said.

Tu-154 aircraft have been involved in a number of accidents in the past.

In April 2010 many high-ranking Polish officials, including then president Lech Kaczynski, were killed when a Tu-154 airliner went down in thick fog while approaching Smolensk airport in western Russia.

Moscow has been conducting a bombing campaign in Syria in support of Mr Assad since September 2015 and has taken steps to boost its presence in the country.

In October, Mr Putin approved a law ratifying Moscow's deal with Damascus to deploy its forces in the country indefinitely, firming up Russia's long-term presence in Syria.

Russian warplanes have flown out of the Hmeimim base to conduct air strikes, and the base is also home to an S-400 air defence system.

 

[Dotini]

Terrorism has not been ruled out. Already I have seen terrible rumor headlines which I prefer not to click on.

 

[TenEightyOne]

Terrorism has not been ruled out. Already I have seen terrible rumor headlines which I prefer not to click on.

I'm sure the investigators are keeping an open mind... but it seems unlikely that terrorists would be able to access a military plane before it departed Moscow, or that they would be able to gain access while it refuelled in Sochi. Sochi may be a more "remote" resort but it's the stamping ground of Russia's rich and famous, security there is inevitably very high.

Given the type's safety record I think the most likely scenario is technical failure and/or pilot overload.

 

[GTP_Patrick1]

Cair Leader tweets too bad more weren't on board to die. Many were civilian musicians.
Hussam Ayloush‏@HussamA
I'm sad about the crashed Russian military jet. The TU-154 could have carried up to 180 military personnel instead of just 92!

 

[TenEightyOne]

Investigators say that the flaps didn't retract in sync - in a plane that's the equivalent of a car passenger violently yanking the wheel across.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38449058

 

[DLR_Mysterion]

Cair Leader tweets too bad more weren't on board to die. Many were civilian musicians.
Hussam Ayloush‏@HussamA
I'm sad about the crashed Russian military jet. The TU-154 could have carried up to 180 military personnel instead of just 92!

CAIR continuing to care it seems