Terror theory in crash not ruled out

Moscow: Russian authorities said on Thursday they had not ruled out that a “terrorist act” could have caused the crash of a military plane into the Black Sea on Sunday, but said it was only one of the theories under consideration.

“The was no explosion on board,” said Sergei Bainetov, the Russian Air Force’s head of flight safety who heads a government commission investigating the crash, which killed 92 people.

“But this isn’t the only type of terrorist act. It could have been any type of mechanical impact, so we don’t rule out a terrorist act,” Mr Bainetov said. Transport minister Maxim Sokolov said the probe has established that the plane was not working normally but will not issue any conclusions before January, cautioning journalists not to jump on any theories.

“It is obvious that the equipment was functioning abnormally. Why that happened is up to experts to work out,” he said at a joint press conference. The Soviet-era Tu-154 plane went down shortly after takeoff from Sochi airport Sunday morning, after stopping to refuel on its way to Syria.

A military ensemble was due to give a concert to Russian soldiers at the Hmeimim base in Syria.

Mr Bainetov said that the Tu-154, which is not used by commercial airlines, has been grounded by the Air Force “until the first conclusions” are made about the crash.

Mr Sokolov said that the “main phase” of the major search operation for plane debris mounted off the coast of the southern city has finished.

“At this time, everything that has to do with the plane’s crash has been brought to surface,” he said. So far only 19 bodies and some 230 body parts have been discovered, Mr Sokolov said.