Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Russia doubts terror in crash
But some say size of debris field, no distress call may indicate attack
SOCHI, Russia — The Kremlin on Monday played down the possibility that a terror attack might have downed a Syria-bound Russian plane, killing all 92 people aboard, as the nation observed a day of mourning for victims, including most members of a world famous military choir.
The Tu-154 owned by the Russian Defense Ministry crashed into the Black Sea early Sunday two minutes after taking off in good weather from the city of Sochi. The plane was carrying members of the Alexandrov Ensemble, often referred to as the Red Army Choir, to a New Year’s concert at a Russian military base in Syria.
About 3,500 people, 43 ships and 182 divers have been sweeping a vast crash site for bodies of the victims and debris, and dozens of drones and several submersibles also have been involved in the search. Rescue teams have recovered 11 bodies and numerous body fragments, which have been flown to Moscow.
Divers have located parts of the plane’s fuselage and other fragments, but the search for the jet’s flight recorders will likely prove challenging as they lack underwater locator beacons common in modern planes.
Officials sought to squelch speculation that the crash might have been caused by a bomb planted on board or a portable air defense missile.
But some aviation experts pointed that the crew’s failure to communicate any technical problem and a large area over which fragments of the plane were scattered point at a possible explosion on board.
Evidence of a bombing of a Syria-bound military flight would badly embarrass the Kremlin, highlighting Russia’s extreme vulnerability to attacks even as it boasts its success in Syria after Aleppo fell back into President Bashar Assad’s hands.
President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters that an attack isn’t a likely scenario. Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov, who oversaw the rescue efforts, said investigators are looking into a possible technical fault or pilot error as the most likely reasons behind the crash.
But some experts remained skeptical, noting that the crew would have reported any technical glitch.
“Possible malfunctions certainly wouldn’t have prevented the crew from reporting them,” Vitaly Andreyev, a former senior Russian air traffic controller, told RIA Novosti, adding that an “external impact” was the most likely reason.
Russia’s main domestic security and counterterrorism agency, the FSB, said it has found “no indications or facts pointing at the possibility of a terror attack or an act of sabotage.”
The plane departed from the Chkalovsky military airport just outside Moscow and stopped in Sochi for refueling early Sunday. The FSB said border guards and military servicemen were protecting the plane as it sat on the tarmac in Sochi, and the chief pilot along with the flight engineer personally monitored the refueling. The agency said that a border guard officer and a customs official were the only ones to briefly come on board in Sochi.
Some Russian media pointed at lax security at Chkalovsky outside Moscow where the plane was based, saying it’s quite porous compared to civilian airports.
Russian planes have been brought down previously in terror attacks.
In October 2015, a Russian passenger plane was brought down by a bomb over Egypt, killing all 224 people aboard. Officials said the explosive device was planted in the plane’s luggage compartment. A local affiliate of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility.
In August 2004, two Russian planes were blown up on the same day by suicide bombers, killing 89 people. A Chechen warlord claimed responsibility for the twin attacks, which were made possible by lax security at a Moscow airport.
While ruling out an attack in Sunday’s crash, the FSB said that investigators are looking into bad fuel, pilot error, alien objects stuck in the engines or equipment failure.
John Goglia, a former U.S. National Transportation Safety Board member and aviation safety expert, argued that while pilot error or bad fuel “would be high on my list,” they wouldn’t have prevented the pilot from alerting traffic controllers to the situation. He also noted that the Tu-154 has been “a pretty reliable platform.”
Flags were at half-staff across Russia on Monday, nationwide television stations canceled their entertainment programs and the Cabinet began its session with a moment of silence as part of the nationwide mourning. Vadim Ananyev, a soloist who stayed home with his family, said he was devastated.
“I have lost my friends and colleagues, all killed, all five soloists,” Ananyev told The Associated Press. “I have known these people for 30 years. I know their wives and children. I feel terrible for the children and for all that I have lost.”