http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/europe/10/04/russia.plane.crash/index.html
Russian jet hit by missile: theory
Grieving for the victims of flight 1812
MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- A Russian plane flying 77 people from Israel to
Russia has exploded before crashing into the Black Sea, Russian officials
have said.
Different theories are emerging as to the possible cause of the tragedy
including one put forward by the U.S. that it had been downed accidently
by a surface-to-air missile during a Ukrainian military exercise.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had earlier told a meeting of European
Union Justice Ministers that the explosion was possibly the result of
terrorism, a spokesman said.
Officials in the United States fear it could have been the dreadful
result of a Ukrainian military exercise which went badly wrong.
One informed U.S. source told CNN that "initial analysis indicates" that
it is believed at least one SA-5 surface-to-air missile was fired from a
shore-based, air-defence system during the Ukrainian exercise and appears
to have downed the airliner.
The official said that the military exercise was the first conducted by
Ukraine in recent years.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official added that there had
been prior notification by the Ukrainian government that air space had
been set aside for military exercises.
But it was not yet clear whether the jet was inside or outside that area
at the time of the crash, the U.S. official said.
Kostyntun Khivlemko, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Defence Ministry, in
Kiev, denied the plane had been shot down by a Ukrainian missile.
He said the missiles being used only had a range of 10 kilometres, while
the plane was more than 300 kilometres away.
Jane's Defence said an SA-5 has a range of 300 kilometres.
Russia had been observing the exercises, but not taking part, Putin said.
His administration was in communication with the Ukraine government, but
it was premature to make any judgements, he added. A careful
investigation would be needed.
Israel, which operates some of the world's most stringent aviation safety
measures, cancelled all take-offs from Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv
immediately after news of the crash for fear it may have been a terrorist
attack.
The move came before the Ukrainian missile theory emerged.
Departure flights were allowed to resume four hours after the crash.
In-bound flights had not been affected.
The Sibir Airlines Tu-154 nose-dived into the Black Sea at about midday
on Thursday during a flight from Tel Aviv to the Siberian city of
Novosibirsk.
CNN's Jill Dougherty in Moscow said early reports showed the Sibir pilot
had given air traffic controllers "no indication" of any problems.
"Whatever happened, happened quickly," she added.
Both the Russian Transport Ministry and domestic security service said
the pilot of an Armenian An-24 plane flying near the Tu-154 had reported
to Russian air traffic controllers in Rostov-on-Don, southern Russia,
that he had seen an explosion aboard the plane.
Garik Ovanisian, the pilot of the Armenian plane, was quoted by The
Associated Press as saying: "I saw the explosion on the plane, which was
above me at an altitude of 11,000 metres (36,790 feet) above the Black
Sea.
Tu-154: 'Workhorse' of the Russian passenger fleet
"The plane fell into the sea, and there was another explosion in the sea.
After that I saw a big white spot on the sea and I had the impression
that oil was burning."
Russian officials said 51 of the passengers were Israelis and 15 were
Russians. All 11 crew members were Russians.
An investigation will be held, led by Vladimir Rushailo, head of the
presidential security council, and attempts to retrieve the flight's data
recorders will be made.
A Russian search and rescue team was sent immediately to the site to look
for any survivors, as well as divers to find any possible evidence.
Early indications are that there were no survivors, Dougherty said.
Putin was shown on Russian television saying "every shred of evidence"
had to be retrieved from the crash site as "quickly as possible."
"We need to collect everything there -- get the experts examining
everything," he added.
"If the depth allows, we need to get divers searching for the flight data
recorder. We need it badly."
Every plane arriving and departing Ben-Gurion airport undergoes strict
security measures and all planes are guarded on the tarmac. Passengers
boarding planes also undergo exhaustive security checks.
Dougherty said: "There is huge concern in Russia in an atmosphere of
terrorism.
"There is a fear that Russia could be targeted for some sort of
retribution for its support of a global crackdown on international
terrorism."
Vasily Yurchuk, Spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Emergency
Situations, said the plane went down 185 kilometres (114 miles) off the
Russian coastal city of Adler, near the Georgian border, The Associated
Press reported.
