Russian plane crash: Black box found in Black Sea

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) – One of the black boxes from the Russian plane which went down over the Black Sea on Sunday with 92 people on board was found early Tuesday, according to a Russian security source.

"One of the black boxes was found under the aircraft's cabin during search operations," the unnamed source was quoted as saying by the country’s official TASS news agency.

The Tu-154 plane’s box was found about 1.6 kilometers off the coast of the resort city of Sochi at a depth of 17 meters, the source said.

The box will be recovered soon and taken to Moscow. The other two boxes are located in the plane’s tail section, it added.

Following the crash – which killed everyone on board, including many Red Army Choir musicians – President Vladimir Putin declared Dec. 26 a national day of mourning.

Putin told reporters on Sunday in St. Petersburg that a commission led by Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov will investigate the crash.

"A thorough investigation will be conducted to determine the cause of the plane crash and every effort made to provide support to the families of the victims," said Putin.

Sokolov told reporters Monday that terrorism was likely not the cause of the crash, pointing instead to technical malfunctions or pilot error.

The aircraft was en route to Syria’s Latakia to take part in a New Year's concert when it disappeared from radar after taking off from Sochi.

In addition to 64 members of the Red Army Choir or Alexandrov Ensemble, the crash’s 92 victims include nine journalists, eight soldiers, two Defense Ministry officials, and one member of an NGO.