A Russian defense ministry transport aircraft on flight to Syria from Moscow has crashed into the Black Sea, off the Sochi coast.
A Russian defense ministry transport aircraft on flight to Syria from Moscow has crashed into the Black Sea, off the Sochi coast.
The Tupolev Tu-154B was carrying 92 people including 84 passengers and 8 crew members en route to Russian air base in Khmeimim, Syria.
The Khmeimim is a permanent Russian airbase in Syria, from where the airstrike operation to support Syrian president Bashar Al Asad is carried out by Russia against the rebels.
The aircraft disappeared from radar shortly after taking off from Sochi at 2:40 GMT, where it had landed for refueling.
The wreckage was located one mile off the Sochi coast at a depth of 50-70 meters (164-184 feet), the Russian Defense Ministry's press service said Sunday.
The Soviet era medium range aircraft with registration RA-85572 was powered by three Kuznetsov NK-8 low bypass turbofan engines and was first flown in 1983.
The aircraft was flown for 6,689 hours and the last maintenance was carried out in September 2016.
First flight of the type was in 1968 and first production airplane took off in 1970.The aircraft was flown for 6,689 hours and the last maintenance was carried out in September 2016.
