| Crashes were work of terrorists, official
says
MARIA DANILOVA; The Associated Press
MOSCOW - A top Russian official acknowledged Thursday what many people
already suspected - that terrorism was the most likely cause of two
jetliners crashing minutes apart, a feeling reflected in a newspaper
headline warning "Russia now has a Sept. 11."
A day after officials stressed there were many possibilities besides
terrorism, presidential envoy Vladimir Yakovlev told Russia's ITAR-Tass
news agency the main theory "all the same remains terrorism."
Yakovlev said the planes' flight recorders provide no clues to the
disaster. He said both boxes had shut off abruptly without indication of
trouble, a sign U.S. aviation experts say is strong evidence of
explosions.
Also, Transport Minister Igor Levitin confirmed Sibir airlines' report
that its crew activated an emergency signal shortly before the plane
disappeared from radar. Visiting the crash site, however, he said details
were slim because "no verbal confirmation from the crew was received"
saying what the problem was.
Officials had said there was no indication of trouble from a
Volga-Aviaexpress airliner that also crashed late Tuesday, although people
on the ground reported hearing a series of explosions.
Russian media also raised questions about a possible link between the
crashes and an explosion a few hours earlier at a bus stop on a road
leading to Domodedovo airport, where the two doomed planes took off.
Without citing evidence, the reports suggested the blast, which wounded
four, might have been an effort to divert attention.
Suspicions of terrorism came after warnings from officials that
separatists might plan attacks before an election Sunday in Chechnya to
replace the war-torn region's assassinated pro-Kremlin president. The
rebels have made attacks in Moscow and other cities, hijacked planes
outside Russia and allegedly staged suicide bombings.
Despite Yakovlev's statement about terrorism, the government was still
investigating all the possibilities - bombs, hijackers, mechanical
failure, bad fuel and human error.
Officials said no evidence has been found pointing to terrorism, and no
one has claimed responsibility for the crashes.
The government had hoped the jetliners' flight data recorders would
shed some light, but Yakovlev told state-run First Channel that experts
found the boxes in both did not indicate problems.
(Published
12:01AM, August 27th, 2004)
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The News Tribune - Tacoma, WA
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