WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Knowledgeable U.S. officials said they have evidence the Russian airliner that crashed Thursday into the Black Sea was shot down by a Ukrainian surface-to-air missile fired during military exercises.
"We believe this was a tragic accident caused by a military exercise gone awry," said a US official.
The Sibir Airlines Tu-154 with 77 people aboard was en route from Israel to Siberia.
U.S. officials said the plane was downed by an SA-5 surface-to-air missile fired from a shore battery during the largest scale Ukrainian military exercises in some years.
The plane started its journey in Tel Aviv, Israel, bound for Novisibersk, Russia. Officials in Israel and Russia said they feared the crash could have been caused by terrorists. An Armenian pilot flying in the vicinity said he saw the plane explode in midair.
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Sibir Airlines belong to Russian Federation and flying under Russian flag.