Russia’s transport minister said Monday during a press conference that pilot error or a technical fault is likely to be the cause of Sunday’s plane crash over the Black Sea.
Russia’s transport minister said Monday during a press conference that pilot error or a technical fault is likely to be the cause of Sunday’s plane crash over the Black Sea.
All 84 passengers and eight crew members on the Russian military’s Tu-154 plane are believed to have died when it crashed two minutes after taking off at 5:25 a.m. in good weather from Sochi. The passengers included dozens of singers in Russia’s world-famous military choir.
Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said in televised remarks that investigators are looking into a possible pilot error or a technical fault and that a terrorist attack was not among the main theories.
More than 3,000 rescue workers, including 100 divers flown in from across Russia, scoured the waters for victims at the crash site, the Defense Ministry said. Helicopters, drones and submersibles were being used to help spot bodies and debris. Powerful spotlights were also being brought in so workers can search throughout the night.
Some plane fragments were found about 1 mile off shore and by Sunday evening about 11 bodies were recovered and fragments of bodies were also found.
Sokolov officially ruled out terrorism after saying Sunday that investigators were looking into every possibility for the crash. Several experts noted factors that suggested a terror attack, such as the crew's failure to report any malfunction and the fact that plane debris was scattered over a wide area.
The plane was taking the Defense Ministry's choir, the Alexandrov Ensemble, to perform at a New Year's concert at Hemeimeem air base in Syria's coastal province of Latakia. Those on board also included nine Russian journalists and a Russian doctor famous for her work in war zones.
Russian President Vladimir Putin went on television to declare Monday a nationwide day of mourning.
"We will conduct a thorough investigation into the reasons and will do everything to support the victims' families," Putin said. The Black Sea search area — which covered over about 4 square miles — was made more difficult by underwater currents that carried debris and body fragments into the open sea. Sokolov said the plane's flight recorders did not have radio beacons, so locating them on the seabed was going to be challenging.
The Tu-154 is a Soviet-built three-engine airliner designed in the late 1960s. More than 1,000 have been built, and they have been used extensively in Russia and worldwide. The plane that crashed Sunday was built in 1983, and underwent factory check-ups and maintenance in 2014 and this year, according to the Defense Ministry.
Magomed Tolboyev, a decorated Russian test pilot, said it was clear that all on board had died in the crash.
"There is no chance to survive in such situation," he said, according to the Interfax news agency.
Before Sokolov spoke to reporters in Sochi, senior Russian lawmakers had ruled out a terror attack, arguing that the military plane was under reliable protection. Security is particularly tight in Sochi, the Black Sea city that hosted the 2014 Winter Games and is regularly visited by Putin, who often receives foreign leaders at his residence there.
But some experts said the crew's failure to report a malfunction pointed at a possible terror attack.
"Possible malfunctions ... certainly wouldn't have prevented the crew from reporting them," Vitaly Andreyev, a former senior Russian air traffic controller, told RIA Novosti.
Alexander Gusak, a former chief of a SWAT team at the main domestic security agency, the FSB, told Dozhd TV that Russian airports are still vulnerable to terror threats despite security cordons.
"It's possible to penetrate them. It's a matter of skills," he said. Russian planes have been brought down previously by terror attacks.
In October 2015, a Russian plane carrying mostly Russian tourists back from vacation in Egypt was brought down by a bomb over the Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people aboard. Officials said the explosive device was planted in the plane's luggage compartment. The local affiliate of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility.
In August 2004, two Russian planes were blown up in the skies over Russia on the same day by suicide bombers, killing 89 people. A Chechen warlord claimed responsibility.
Russia’s transport minister said Monday during a press conference that pilot error or a technical fault is likely to be the cause of Sunday’s plane crash over the Black Sea.
All 84 passengers and eight crew members on the Russian military’s Tu-154 plane are believed to have died when it crashed two minutes after taking off at 5:25 a.m. in good weather from Sochi. The passengers included dozens of singers in Russia’s world-famous military choir.
Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said in televised remarks that investigators are looking into a possible pilot error or a technical fault and that a terrorist attack was not among the main theories.
More than 3,000 rescue workers, including 100 divers flown in from across Russia, scoured the waters for victims at the crash site, the Defense Ministry said. Helicopters, drones and submersibles were being used to help spot bodies and debris. Powerful spotlights were also being brought in so workers can search throughout the night.
Some plane fragments were found about 1 mile off shore and by Sunday evening about 11 bodies were recovered and fragments of bodies were also found.
Sokolov officially ruled out terrorism after saying Sunday that investigators were looking into every possibility for the crash. Several experts noted factors that suggested a terror attack, such as the crew's failure to report any malfunction and the fact that plane debris was scattered over a wide area.
The plane was taking the Defense Ministry's choir, the Alexandrov Ensemble, to perform at a New Year's concert at Hemeimeem air base in Syria's coastal province of Latakia. Those on board also included nine Russian journalists and a Russian doctor famous for her work in war zones.
Russian President Vladimir Putin went on television to declare Monday a nationwide day of mourning.
"We will conduct a thorough investigation into the reasons and will do everything to support the victims' families," Putin said. The Black Sea search area — which covered over about 4 square miles — was made more difficult by underwater currents that carried debris and body fragments into the open sea. Sokolov said the plane's flight recorders did not have radio beacons, so locating them on the seabed was going to be challenging.
The Tu-154 is a Soviet-built three-engine airliner designed in the late 1960s. More than 1,000 have been built, and they have been used extensively in Russia and worldwide. The plane that crashed Sunday was built in 1983, and underwent factory check-ups and maintenance in 2014 and this year, according to the Defense Ministry.
Magomed Tolboyev, a decorated Russian test pilot, said it was clear that all on board had died in the crash.
"There is no chance to survive in such situation," he said, according to the Interfax news agency.
Before Sokolov spoke to reporters in Sochi, senior Russian lawmakers had ruled out a terror attack, arguing that the military plane was under reliable protection. Security is particularly tight in Sochi, the Black Sea city that hosted the 2014 Winter Games and is regularly visited by Putin, who often receives foreign leaders at his residence there.
But some experts said the crew's failure to report a malfunction pointed at a possible terror attack.
"Possible malfunctions ... certainly wouldn't have prevented the crew from reporting them," Vitaly Andreyev, a former senior Russian air traffic controller, told RIA Novosti.
Alexander Gusak, a former chief of a SWAT team at the main domestic security agency, the FSB, told Dozhd TV that Russian airports are still vulnerable to terror threats despite security cordons.
"It's possible to penetrate them. It's a matter of skills," he said. Russian planes have been brought down previously by terror attacks.
In October 2015, a Russian plane carrying mostly Russian tourists back from vacation in Egypt was brought down by a bomb over the Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people aboard. Officials said the explosive device was planted in the plane's luggage compartment. The local affiliate of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility.
In August 2004, two Russian planes were blown up in the skies over Russia on the same day by suicide bombers, killing 89 people. A Chechen warlord claimed responsibility.
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