Russian military plane with 92 on board disappears moments after take off from Sochi

[tsv]

Would be interesting to know what Cargo was on board.

This was a Military Aircraft heading to a conflict zone so I guess there is a good chance it had some Military Cargo on board.

An explosion from an accident in the Cargo Bay is probably more likely than an intentional bombing by a Terrorist.

[quixoticguide]

‘The flaps, damn it!’ were the last words of TU-154 flight crew!

[quixoticguide]

https://www.rt.com/news/371973-last-words-black-box/

[tsv]

Well there you go. Could be the flaps were either not set to the correct position by the Pilots or there was a technical issue that stopped them moving into position.

Bit surprised really, the debris field seemed to be so large that I figured it must have been a mid air break up.

I would never say the TU-154 is an unsafe aircraft because nearly all the crashes it has suffered have been due to human error. But I do get the impression it may be a bit more unforgiving than some other equipment in as much as it is not an easy aircraft to recover control of. Would be interested if any Professional Pilots, Engineers or Designers out there agree with this and if so have an explanation as to why this may be the case?

[quixoticguide]

Asymmetric flap would tip them into the ground in seconds!

[Passenger]

So perhaps the "U-turn" was a 180° whilst going down.

[tsv]

So perhaps the "U-turn" was a 180° whilst going down.

Perhaps. But there was a planned U-Turn in their flight plan.

[jan_olieslagers]

Didn't we have concensus (or even a guideline?) to avoid "perhaps" and other speculations? As always, better to quietly wait for factual information.

[Passenger]

Didn't we have concensus (or even a guideline?) to avoid "perhaps" and other speculations? As always, better to quietly wait for factual information.

May I remind you to that it was you who brought up that "U-turn" here - see:

Also: ASN mentions the plane performed a U-turn back to the airport, though no other sources confirm this. If it be true, it wasn't an immediate total break-up. See https://aviation-safety.net/database/re ... 20161225-0

May I remind you that you also used "...can not have been..." and/or "...if..." and/or "...should have..." and/or "...there ought to have been..." ? Isn't that speculation? See:

The plane can not have been very high, and the Tu-154 has a strong reputation for being very sturdy. I am finding it very strange there was not a single survivor. Even if the pilots were perhaps no Sullenbergers, they should have been able to manage some kind of controlled ditching. And in that case, there ought to have been some survivors, though the very cold water would take its toll, too.

[Cody12]

A Russian plane has vanished from radar moments after take off, it has been reported.

The airliner has set off from the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Christmas Eve carrying around 70 people, according to Russian media.

The missing jet is believed to be a Tu-154 belonging to the Russian Defense Ministry, RT reported.

it was Tu-154. despite its strong reputation, there were no survivors. According to the media the victims had worn life jackets. but there are very few of them who wore them. that means the pilot knew about the plane was going to crash and he must had warned the passenger but due to less time they didn't get into safety.

[sn26567]

According to the media the victims had worn life jackets. but there are very few of them who wore them. that means the pilot knew about the plane was going to crash and he must had warned the passenger but due to less time they didn't get into safety.

The analysis of the CVR should tell us more about what the pilot said (apart from "the flaps, damn it").

But I read there are three black boxes? Three? FDR, CVR and ...?

[jan_olieslagers]

A good question, André. But this is a military plane, and a Russian military plane at that - we must not expect it to conform to Western airliner standards. For the same reason, I suppose* that it carried no ADS-B equipment, thus no traces on Flightradar et al.

* yes, yes, speculation - I plead guilty!

[sn26567]

For the same reason, I suppose* that it carried no ADS-B equipment, thus no traces on Flightradar et al.

Indeed, Flightradar immediately recognised it had no record of that flight.

[sn26567]

Another flight recorder of Tu-154 recovered from seabed near Sochi

Another flight recorder of the ill-fortunate Tupolev-154 that crashed near Sochi last Sunday morning has been recovered from the seabed.

Earlier, the plane’s cockpit voice recorder (CVR) was delivered to the Russian Aerospace Force’s research center in Lubertsy, near Moscow. Primary analysis of the data already retrieved from the first recorder has allowed for narrowing the range of likely causes of the plane’s crash.

Divers have retrieved a total of 15 bodies and 239 body parts from the bottom of the Black Sea.

So far, 13 bodies and 168 body parts have been taken to Moscow’s Bureau of Forensic Medicine for identification procedures and DNA tests.

Since the start of the search operation, the divers have found 12 large and more than 1,500 small pieces of the plane. The effort was conducted round-the-clock.

At present, the operation involves 45 vessels, 15 deep-sea submersibles, 192 divers, 12 aircraft, 5 helicopters and drones. The large fragments, which were retrieved by the sea self-propelled crane Chernomorets 11, are now being taken to the shore. The debris included the chassis, the engine, the fuselage shell and personal belongings of passengers.

Source: Russian Aviation

[quixoticguide]

I found out today (29 December 2016) that a Belavia TU154 (reg. EW-85741) flew from Novy Urengoy, Russia to Gomel, Belarus.
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/airc ... 41#c056310

So only the Russian TU154's are grounded not the Belarusian TU154's?