The Latest: Pilot error, technical fault behind Russia crash
Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov says that pilot error or a technical fault were likely to blame for Sunday's crash of a Russian Tu-154 carrying 92 passengers and crew.
Russian emergency crews are aiming to work all night searching the Black Sea off Sochi for victims and plane debris after a Russian Tu-154 carrying 92 passengers and crew crashed right after takeoff before dawn.
More than 3,000 people — including over 100 divers flown in from across Russia — were working Sunday from 32 ships and several helicopters to search the crash site, the Defense Ministry said.
Russia's transport minister says investigators are looking into all possible reasons why a Russian military plane crashed into the Black Sea with 92 people on board, including the option of a terror attack.
Syrian President Bashar Assad has sent a condolence letter to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, over the plane that plunged into the sea with 92 people aboard.
Assad expressed his condolences to all the victims' families, adding that the countries are partners in the war against terrorism.
The plane belonging to the Russian Defense Ministry was heading to Syria, carrying members of the world-famous Russian army choir to a New Year concert at the Russian military base.
There appeared to be no survivors after the Tu-154 passenger plane operated by the Russian Defense Ministry crashed into the Black Sea Sunday minutes after taking off from Sochi.
Russia's Defense Ministry says a widely revered Russian charity doctor was on board a Russian plane headed to Syria that crashed into the Black Sea shortly after takeoff.
A Russian official says the crash of a Russian military passenger plane into the Black Sea could have been caused by a technical malfunction or a crew error, but he believes it could not have been terrorism because the plane was operated by the military.
Viktor Ozerov, head of the defense affairs committee at the upper house of Russian parliament, says in remarks carried by the state news agency RIA Novosti that he "totally excludes" terrorism as a possible cause of the crash.