Preliminary results of Tu-154 crash investigation announced

ASTANA. KAZINFORM All systems of the Russian Defense Ministry plane which crashed near Sochi, were servicable before the crash. Kommersant newspaper reports with reference to preliminary findings of the commission investigating the causes of the disaster.

Earlier, as the result of explosive-examination, versions of a possible terrorist attack or firing from the ground were refuted. Thus, the only version left was a crew error, writes the newspaper.

According to Lenta.ru, TU-154 pilots' actions during take-off currently are being studied. It is still unclear what exactly led to the crash. The poor quality of the original data does not allow experts to recover the whole scheme of contingency situation on board.

During the study of a parametric recorder, military had to involve Interstate Aviation Committee. The Air Force center did not have proper equipment or specialists to work with an obsolete device of TU-154. This explains the delay in the investigation.

Tu-154 which was conducting a one stop flight from Moscow and landed in Sochi for refueling disappeared from the radars shortly after taking off from Adler airport at 05:27 local time (02:27 UTC) on Sunday, 25 December. The aircraft was heading for Russian airbase Hmeimim, south-east of Latakia where the Ensemble was due to give a concert for Russian troops in Syria.

Among the passengers of the flight were 64 musicians of the Alexandrov Ensemble, nine reporters of Russian federal channels, head of Spravedlivaya Pomoshch (Fair Aid) charity Elizaveta Glinka, and two federal civil servants

.