It will be a bleak festive season celebrations as Russia, its friends and allies are currently in mourning following the crash of a Russian military p
It will be a bleak festive season celebrations as Russia, its friends and allies are currently in mourning following the crash of a Russian military plane into the black sea on Christmas day, Sunday 25th, December. All 92 passengers on board the plane have been confirmed dead. The Tu-154 plane was conveying soldiers, journalists and 64 members of the famed Alexandrov military music ensemble, who were to perform for the Russian troops in a flight that originated in Moscow and landed at Adler airport in Sochi for refueling.
The plane was said to have disappeared from the radar two minutes after taking off from Sochi at 05.25 (02.25 GMT), heading for Latakia in Syria. An audio recording played on Russian media and said to be the final conversation between air traffic controllers and the pilot reveals no sign of any difficulties being faced by the crew. Voices heard on the audio recording were calm until the plane disappeared as the controllers tried in vain to re-establish contact. Reports from the area said flying conditions were favourable.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared Monday day of national mourning and has since sent his condolences to the families and friends of the victims. In addition to the 64 member crew of the Alexandrov Ensemble there also nine journalists, eight soldiers, two civil servants and eight crew members who perished in the crash. The music group was scheduled to perform at a New Year’s concert at Russia’s Hmeimim air base near Latakia.
While Russian officials do not think it is an act of terrorism as the plane took off from a heavily guarded military aerodrome in Moscow, a criminal investigation into the crash has been opened nonetheless as an entire spectrum of possible reasons is being considered.
Fragments of the plane have been found 1.5km, that is, one mile from the Black Sea coast of the city of Sochi at a depth of 50 to 70m (165-230ft) and no survivors have been spotted. According to Russian Defence ministry, the plane was last serviced in September and had undergone more substantial repairs in December 2014.
The Tu-154 is a Soviet-built, three-engine airliner designed in the late 1960s that was the workhouse of the Soviet, and later Russian, fleet of intermediate range passenger jets. In recent years, Russian airlines have replaced the jets with modern aircraft often manufactured by Boeing or Airbus but the military and some other government agencies in Russia have continued to use them.
Rescuers retrieving passengers’ belongings
Photo credit: AP
