Translated material
Ministry of Defense: the crashed Tu-154 was technically sound
The crashed Tu-154 aircraft was technically sound, Interfax reports, citing Sergey Baynetov, head of the aviation safety service of the Russian Armed Forces.
He also added that the crew commander, military pilot Roman Volkov, repeatedly flew along the route that the Tu-154 flew.
“The crew commander of the Tu-154 aircraft is a military pilot of the first class, Major Volkov Roman Aleksandrovich. The crew is full-time,” he said.
“The plane was technically sound. Extreme maintenance work was carried out in September 2016,” said Sergey Baynetov, head of the aviation safety service of the Russian Armed Forces.
- The Tu-154 aircraft of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation crashed on the morning of December 25 over the Black Sea. There were 92 people on board: journalists, artists of the Alexandrov Ensemble, head of the Fair Aid Foundation Elizaveta Glinka (Dr. Lisa). There is no evidence that anyone could have survived the plane crash.
- Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said that it was too early to talk about the causes of the disaster. According to him, "the whole spectrum and any possible causes that could lead to a disaster are being worked out." Sokolov also added that the technical commission of the Ministry of Defense is investigating the issue of the preparedness of the Tu-154 crew.
- The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case under the article “violation of flight rules that entailed grave consequences” (Article 351 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
- Tu-154 was heading to Syria. It was assumed that the artists of the Alexandrov Ensemble would give a concert for the Russian military. According to various sources, the concert was supposed to take place at the Khmeimim air base or in Aleppo.