Posted on 08/27/2004 7:49:17 AM PDT by traumer
Traces of explosive have been found amid the wreckage of one of two Tupolev airliners that crashed on Tuesday, say Russian officials. The FSB security service said at least one of the almost simultaneous crashes was a "terrorist act".
Details of the discovery came after an Islamic group claimed responsibility for the crashes in a website statement. Investigators are still working to decode the flight data recorders from the crashes, which left 89 people dead.
Russian aviation officials have confirmed that one of the planes, a Sibir Airlines Tu-154, sent out a hijack alert just before it crashed, Russian media report.
The Tu-154 and a Tu-134 jet crashed within minutes of each other over southern Russia, coming down about 800km (500 miles) apart.
Claim
The FSB says the traces of explosive were found amid the debris of the Tu-154, which was flying to the Black Sea resort of Sochi when it disappeared from radar shortly after the pilot pressed the SOS button.
1. Domodedovo Airport 1735: A Sibir Airlines Tu-154 bound for Sochi departs 1815: A Volga-Aviaexpress Tu-134 leaves for Volgograd 1856: Contact lost with Tu-134 1859: Contact lost with Tu-154 2. Tula region Wreckage from Tu-134 found near the village of Buchalki soon after contact is lost 3. Rostov-on-Don 0400 (approx): Wreckage from Tu-154 found (All times in GMT)
The same explosive, hexogen, was apparently used in a series of apartment bombings in 1999 that killed around 200 people.
In a website statement on Friday, a group called the Islamic Brigades said it had five people on board each aircraft. It warned this act would be followed by others "until the killings of our Muslim brothers in Chechnya cease".
The crashes came just days before a presidential election in war-ravaged Chechnya, where separatists recently stepped up attacks on Russian forces and their local allies.
Transport Minister Igor Levitin, who heads the government commission investigating the crashes, said on Thursday that more time was needed to decode the "black box" flight data recorders. "Not all the flight recorders are in a condition that would allow them to be read immediately," he said before flying to Tula Region, where one of the planes crashed.
"Today and tomorrow we will work on them in order to bring the tape to a condition that will allow us to read what happened."
See more about the two Tupolev planes President Vladimir Putin's envoy to southern Russia told reporters that the black boxes had "practically switched off immediately".
Vladimir Yakovlev said this was "probably more confirmation... that something had happened very quickly".
Investigators have continued to sift through the wreckage scattered over fields in Tula and Rostov Region.
Mystery passenger
Russian flags flew at half-mast on Thursday and light entertainment was withdrawn from theatre and television schedules as part of a day of national mourning.
The black boxes are said to be in poor condition Passenger lists indicate that all the victims were Russian, apart from one Israeli.
The vast majority appear to have been ethnic Russians while there has been some speculation that a woman passenger aboard the Tu-154 may have been a Chechen.
"We have no information that she was a terrorist," said Mr Levitin, adding that investigators wanted to know why no one had come to claim her body.
Russia's newspapers have largely poured scorn on the official line that the cause of the crashes was probably technical or human error.
"Despite the titanic efforts of state television, we are not all imbeciles just yet," said an editorial in Moskovsky Komsomolets.
"Now Russia has its own 11 September," said the headline in Nezavisimaya Gazeta.
The victims' families are to receive 112,000 roubles ($3,800) each in compensation - unless it is proven that terrorism was to blame, in which case they would receive less.
Told you all so!
So I guess Russia is still all gung-ho joyous about building nuclear programs and assets for Iran right about now huh?
Maybe Russia wasn't building Iran's nukes fast enough! What fools!
"The FSB security service said at least one of the almost simultaneous crashes was a "terrorist act".
And the other may have been what? a coincidence?
It never ceases to amaze, and anger, me the depth of contempt some governmental entities have for the intelligence level of the general populace.
The FSB says the traces of explosive were found amid the debris of the Tu-154, which was flying to the Black Sea resort of Sochi when it disappeared from radar shortly after the pilot pressed the SOS button.Condolences to the grieving Russians who are mourning the loss of siblings, parents, and children today.The same explosive, hexogen, was apparently used in a series of apartment bombings in 1999 that killed around 200 people.
I hope these terrorists are hunted down like the wild beasts they are.
I often wonder what the effect would be if, for every international terrorism tragedy, a mosque was erased somewhere. Blowing up an airliner with innocent men, women, and children is what used to be called "total war". If one recalls Hiroshima and Dresden, a mosque going up at an opportune time is not without precedent. If they want "jihad"... give it to them. They should understand that "jihad" does NOT translate as "holy war", it translates as "total war". The only kind winnable, or even fightable.
AGREED!
I can't beleive nobody has said it..."It's Bush's fault."
Like the Germans, the Rooskies will continue to sell Iran the nuclear know-how that will come back to haunt them.
This is what Russia gets for so closely aligning with the United States in the Iraq War. [/sarcasm]
Seriously, this is a tragedy for all those affected and they should be in our prayers.
Residue from a dog training exercise.
So, let me get this straight - an Islamic group sends 5 people on each plane (that makes 10 right)to commit suicide and they'll keep doing this until the senseless killings of their brothers in Chechen stops?
Yup. This was called by freepers pretty much immediately after the initial reports.
Furthermore, both planes left from the same airport, during the night. On the thread Tuesday night I ventured to posit it will be one man with access to both planes' luggage that will ultimately be found as the cause.
It is indeed heartening to see the effort that goes into seeing that government dogs everywhere are well trained.
Simultaneous center fuel tank explosions. Plus they must have been using those unreliable French carbon composite tails.
But were the explosives put on the planes by terrorists, or are there explosives on all Russian planes rigged so that the planes can be blown up remotely from the ground to thwart terrorists?
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