Russia rules out terrorism in military plane crash

No sign of survivors after Tu-154 crashes into Black Sea with 92 people on board, including most of popular military band

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian official said Sunday that the crash of a Russian military passenger plane into the Black Sea could have been caused by a technical malfunction or a crew error, but he believes it could not have been terrorism because the plane was operated by the military.

Viktor Ozerov, head of the defense affairs committee at the upper house of Russian parliament, said in remarks carried by the state news agency RIA Novosti that he “totally excludes” terrorism as a possible cause of the crash.

The plane was en route to Russia’s air base in Syria with 92 people on board when it crashed shortly after taking off from the resort town of Sochi. At least one body has been found and there is no word on whether anyone survived.

The Defense Ministry has released a list of the passengers. They include 64 members of the Alexandrov Ensemble, among them its leader, Valery Khalilov. The Alexandrov Ensemble is the official choir of the Russian military, and it also includes a band and a dancing company.

Nine Russian journalists, including a TV crew from Channel One, were also among the passengers.

In this photo taken on Thursday, March 31, 2016, the Alexandrov Ensemble choir performs during a concert in Moscow, Russia. A Russian plane with 92 people aboard, including the well-known military band, crashed into the Black Sea on its way to Syria on Sunday, Dec. 25, minutes after takeoff from the resort city of Sochi, the Defense Ministry said. (AP Photo)

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was personally coordinating the rescue efforts, and President Vladimir Putin has received official reports on the incident.

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 by carriers in Russia and worldwide.

In recent years, Russian airlines have replaced their Tu-154s with more modern planes, but the military and some other government agencies in Russia have continued to use them.

While noisy and fuel-guzzling by modern standards, the plane has been popular with crews that appreciate its maneuverability and ruggedness.

“It’s an excellent plane, which has proven its reliability during decades of service,” veteran pilot Oleg Smirnov said in televised remarks.

The plane that crashed was built in 1983, and underwent repairs in 2014, according to the Defense Ministry.

In April 2010, a Tu-154 carrying Polish President Lech Kaczynski and 95 others crashed while trying to land in bad weather at a sporadically used military airport in Smolensk in western Russia, killing everyone on board. Investigations by both Polish and Russian experts blamed pilot error in bad weather conditions, but Polish authorities have launched a new probe.