Posted on 08/24/2004 9:03:09 PM PDT by Destro
Wreckage of second missing plane found
Aug 25, 2004
The wreckage of the second missing Russian plane has been found.
Two planes crashed, each with 40 people on board.
The planes were reported missing within minutes of each other late on Tuesday night, and Russian news agencies said President Vladimir Putin had ordered the FSB security service to investigate the incidents, something it would normally do only when there are suspicious circumstances.
Witnesses saw an explosion on board one of the planes just before it crashed near Tula,150 km south of Moscow.
Local news agencies reported that security had been tightened at all the country's airports after the incidents.
The suggestion that the incidents might have been deliberately caused will raise concerns of possible political motivation.
The incidents come just days before a presidential election in Chechyna where Moscow has been battling separatist rebels for a decade. The rebels launched a major raid in the local capital Grozny last week and have promised more attacks.
A ministry spokeswoman said a Tu-134 airliner with 34 passengers and eight crew flying from Moscow to Volgograd crashed after contact with it was lost at just before 11pm.
The ministry spokeswoman said the wreckage was found near the town of Tula.
"Rescue teams are working at the site," she said. "We have no information about possible survivors, but frankly speaking one could hardly expect to find them after this kind of crash."
Just three minutes later, air traffic controllers lost contact with another passenger plane -- a Tu-154 with 44 passengers and eight crew on board -- flying from Moscow to the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
Contact was lost as the plane was flying near the southern city of Rostov-on-Don.
Both planes had taken off from Moscow's Domodedovo airport.
Russian air carrier Sibir has been quoted as saying it owned the plane that went missing near Rostov-on-Don.
A company spokesman told the agency 38 passengers were on board the plane, in operation since 1982.
The Emergencies ministry spokeswoman said a fire was seen at a location where contact with Tu-154 was lost.
"But rescue teams have not reached the place and I cannot say now whether it was the plane," she said. "We continue to refer to the plane as missing for now."
Itar-Tass news agency quoted a Moscow air controllers' source as saying that there had been no reports of any problems from the crew of the Tu-134 before it crashed near Tula.
Source: Reuters
Bye bye Grozny.
This thread reports the first plane gave out a hijack signal.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1198756/posts
Right.
I feel sorry for any innocents in Chechnia (if any one is innocent there) Putin & the Russians will not pussyfoot around. There will be hell to pay and Putin won’t be discriminate.
A coincidence is SOOOOOOOOO UNLIKELY.
Oh, absolutely. I think it was almost definitely terrorism but by whom and with what purpose. And Chechyna is having elections in a few days.
That's what I was alluding to--a major partner in the WOT.
I think maybe after this Putin will eradicate the terrorists in Chechnia and anywhere near it.
I've been to Russia four times. Last time was in March 2002. We left just a week before the theater incident in Moscow.
We watched on Russian television the Russian campaign in Chechnya.
Scorched earth! They blew up everything. Schools, hospitals, Mosques, Churches, Synagogues, apartment buildings, everything. And when the fires went out, they sent the giant earth movers to bulldoze everything into the ground. Never even looked for survivors.
After the theater incident in Moscow, the Russians began exterminating suspected Chechen terrorists AND THEIR FAMILIES!
If it was a hi-jacking, it was Al Quaeda. There aren't a lot of Chechen terrorists left alive, except for the ones who managed to escape to the remaining A-Q safe havens.
Very nice sentiments. I feel the same.
Anyone know if these aircraft have the range to reach Greece?
Keep in mind, both flights were on courses directly toward the Black Sea town where Putin is vacationing right now. Like I said on the other thread, if you are Putin and the hijack squawk goes off under those circumstances, what do you do? I think it's fairly clear.
The Iranians better check the next shipment of nukes that Russia sends them to see if they are ticking.
The Russians still fight using their WWII tactics. Your description is very accurate.
At this point we don't know what happened. But, we must remember, Islam is the world's most peaceful religion.
It's not a question of the Russians coming on board; it's a question of US coming on board and of somebody getting our wretched state department under control. Russians have BEEN on board, and most of what they hear is that our terrorists are terrorists while theirs are "freedom fighters". Last I heard, our state department was still broadcasting their own brand of BS to checheniya in chechen language.
Something has to give here. Russia is the most natural and most valuable ally we could possible have in any sort of struggle against islammic terrorism.
Being ex-KGB, he's not likely to give a speech about being "more sensitive". And he's more likely to drop a nuke on Chechnya than ask the French the Germans, or the U.N. for permission to do anything.
Come to think of it, I admire his leadership style.
I am still on the Swift Boats... lol... so I am not current
on all the information regarding the two downed aircraft.
No, not two Aeroflots. Two Tupelovs.
Saying "two Aeroflots" is as silly as saying "two AA planes down" when one might be a 767 belonging to United and the other an MD-80 belonging to American. Just f'r'example.
I wonder if it will finally dawn on the countries who'd rather appease the terrorists rather than go after them like we are...that the terrorists DON'T CARE if you kiss their butt...they'll still kill you anyway!
When did russia get a second airline?
I mentioned Aeroflot because that is the official soviet airline
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.