Main black box of crashed Russian plane found in Black Sea

Sochi / AFP

The main black box of the Syria-bound Russian military plane that crashed into the Black Sea with 92 people onboard has been found in a massive ongoing search operation, authorities said on Tuesday.
“The main black box was found at 5:42 am Moscow time (0242 GMT) 1,600 metres from the shore at a depth of 17 metres,” the defence ministry said in a statement, later adding that the device had arrived in the Moscow region to be deciphered by experts.
The Tu-154 jet, whose passengers included more than 60 members of the internationally renowned Red Army Choir, was heading to Russia’s military airbase in Syria when it went down off the coast of Sochi shortly after take-off on Sunday. Investigators have yet to confirm the cause of the crash, but officials have said that an act of terror was not being considered as a possible explanation.
The finding of the black box comes as searchers are scrambling to recover bodies and remaining debris from the aircraft in an operation involving 192 divers, 45 vessels, 12 planes, five helicopters and 15 deepwater machines.
The defence ministry said that five plane fragments, including part of the fuselage and engine, were found overnight 30 metres (98 feet) under water at around 1,700 metres from the shore. It told Russian news agencies that searchers had later found an additional three fragments which included landing gear and a portion of the engine.
Russia’s federal security service has said it is looking into four suspected causes of the crash, namely pilot error, technical failure, faulty fuel and an object in the engine.
The defence ministry said a total of 12 bodies and 156 body fragments had been recovered from the
sea since the crash, all of which
are being sent to Moscow for DNA identification. The Kommersant daily newspaper reported that investigators are relying on a witness statement by a coast guard member who saw the plane in its final moments descending towards the sea with its nose tilted sharply upward.
Authorities have not said how long it would take to decipher the black box, which could provide information on the reasons for the crash.
The Tu-154 jet went down on Sunday morning minutes after taking off at 5:25 am (0225 GMT) from Sochi’s airport, where it had stopped to refuel after flying out from the Chkalovsky military aerodrome in the Moscow region. The FSB said all passengers remained on the plane when it stopped in Sochi, with one customs officer and one border guard coming on board as it was being fuelled.

Russia to rebuild Red Army Choir

Moscow / AFP

Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday he will aim to quickly restore the country’s signature Red Army Choir, which lost most of its singers in the weekend’s military plane crash. Sixty-four members, including the conductor Valery Khalilov and most singers of the Alexandrov Ensemble, also known as the Red Army Choir internationally, died when their Syria-bound plane went down in the Black Sea near the resort city of Sochi.
Shoigu said that he will do what is necessary “so that we can restore the troupe in the nearest future, as much as we could, hold auditions, pick the best people, so that they continue the traditions that the Alexandrov Ensemble is known for.”
To entice the best musical talent to join the army’s official choir, Shoigu said he will soon order the allocation of 70 flats to the ensemble.
He added that a military music school will be named after conductor Khalilov, calling him a “legend” who revived the army’s orchestral traditions. At a defence ministry meeting, Shoigu held a minute of silence in memory of the victims, who were en route to Russia’s military base in Syria to entertain troops during New Year’s celebrations.