Tupolev crash: black box identified, 13 bodies recovered, no traces of explosives

(To David Bartoccini)
27/12/16

No trace of explosives on the thirteen bodies recovered at the time of the 92 victims died in the crash of the Tupolev Tu-154 (NATO code name 'Careless') fallen on Christmas night on the Black Sea just two minutes after taking off from the airport runway Adler of Sochi.

The plane, a line trimotor with 84 passengers and 8 crew members on board, was headed to Syria, where it would land in Latakia.

The FSB (Federal'naja služba bezopasnosti Rossijskoj Federacii) had already excluded the track of the attack, now confirmed by the absence of explosive traces on all and 13 the bodies recovered, including that of the commander.

It will be one of the black boxes of the aircraft, identified this morning at 1.600 meters from the shore and delivered to a specialized center in Moscow, to reveal whether the causes of the accident are due to a mechanical failure or human error.

Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a day of national mourning throughout Russia for the disappearance of passengers: 64 members of the choir AV Alexandrov, heir to the choir of the Red Army, headed for the base of Khmeimim, the chief of military police Vladimir Ivanovsky , the head of the cultural department of the Ministry of Defense Anton Gubankov, the head of the humanitarian foundation Spravedlivaya Pomoshch, Elizaveta Glinka, two federal officials and eight military personnel.

After the incident the entire fleet of Tupolev Tu-154 of the VVS was forced to land.

(photo: Russian Fed. MoD archive)