‘No explosion’ on Russian plane

MOSCOW // Officials investigating the crash of a Syria-bound Russian military plane in the Black Sea said yesterday there was no explosion on board, but equipment was not functioning properly when it went down. “There was no explosion on board. I can say that for certain,” said Sergei Bainetov, head of flight safety for the Russian air force. “But an act of terror is not necessarily an explosion, so we are not discarding this version.” The Tu-154 plane went down shortly after take-off from Sochi airport on Sunday, killing all 92 on board, including performers from a Red Army choir troupe. Transport minister Maxim Sokolov said the investigation had established the plane was not working normally but he would not issue any conclusions before January.

The military ensemble was to give a concert to Russian soldiers at the Hmeimim base in the Syrian province of Latakia.

The plane was flown by a pilot who had 4,000 hours of expe- rience, including 1,500 on the Tu-154. Analysis of the second black box, which records voices in the cockpit, suggested he noticed something was wrong. “One phrase from the commander ... suggests that an abnormal situation began to develop,” Mr Bainetov said.

Citing cockpit dialogue, Russian media reported that the plane’s flaps failed to retract on time, leading to the crash. Mr Bainetov refused to confirm this.