Tu 154 height above the Black Sea. “Is it perhaps a collective insanity?

Occur almost every year since the start of flights of this type of aircraft. From 1973 to 2011, there were only a few years during which not a single incident related to the Tu-154 occurred.

In total, 72 Tu-154 aircraft were lost in accidents and disasters. The largest Tu-154 crash(and all Soviet aviation) occurred on July 10, 1985 near Uchkuduk. The overloaded plane went into a tailspin due to the fault of the crew. There were 200 people on board, all of them died.

In general, despite the fact that, according to some pilots, the Tu-154 is too complicated for mass production passenger airliner and requires high qualifications of both flight and ground personnel, this airliner has proven itself to be a completely reliable and safe aircraft. Moreover, Tu-154 plane crashes are not always due to the fault of technology.

Of course, airliner problems do happen, but more often they occur on aircraft that are operated beyond normal limits and do not receive adequate maintenance. In addition, errors of the crew, dispatchers, or other circumstances often lead to disasters. For example, in 2011, a civilian flight flying over the Black Sea was mistakenly shot down by a Ukrainian air defense missile during an exercise...

Of the latest disasters, it is worth noting Polish Tu-154, crashed near Smolensk in 2010. On that plane is the President of Poland with his wife, as well as many high-ranking officials. They all died.

But more favorable outcomes also happen. In 2010, a plane with failed engines was able to land safely at an abandoned airfield in Izhma. This legendary Alrosa company saved the lives of 81 people.

The table below provides a short list of all Tu-154 plane crashes compiled by Wikipedia.

date	Board number	Scene of the incident	Victims/On Board	Short description
19.02.1973	85023	Prague	66/100	He crashed before reaching 470 meters from the runway.
03.1973	n.d.	Kyiv	0/n.d.	Crashed.
07.05.1973	85030	Vnukovo	0/6	Suffered an accident while performing a training flight.
10.07.1974	SU-AXB	Cairo	6/6	Suffered a disaster while performing a training flight.
30.09.1975	HA-LCI	Beirut	60/60	The Budapest-Beirut flight crashed at sea during landing.
01.06.1976	85102	Malabo	46/46	Crashed into a mountain during landing.
1976	85020	Kyiv	0/n.d.	Rough landing. Now in Ukrainian state museum aviation.
02.12.1977	LZ-BTN	Benghazi	59/165	Unable to land in fog, ran out of fuel while searching for an alternate airfield and made a rough landing.
23.03.1978	LZ-BTB	near Damascus	4/4	Crash during landing.
19.05.1978	85169	Maksatikha	4/134	Due to an error by the flight engineer, the fuel supply was cut off and he made an emergency landing in a field.
18.02.1978	85087	Tolmachevo	0/n.d.	Fire on board. The surviving tail of the airliner was filmed in the film The Crew.
01.03.1980	85103	Orenburg	0/161	Rough landing with fuselage deformation.
07.07.1980	85355	Almaty	164/164	Crash on takeoff. Wind shear.
07.08.1980	YP-TPH	Mauritania	1/168	Wrong landing on water 300 m before the runway.
08.10.1980	85321	Chita	0/n.d.	Rough landing.
13.06.1981	85029	Bratsk	0/n.d.	During landing, it rolled off a wet runway and the tail came off in the 28th row.
20.09.1981	85448	Tashkent	n.d.	Burnt out while refueling.
16.11.1981	85480	Norilsk	99/167	Rough landing 470 meters before the runway due to elevator failure.
21.10.1981	HA-LCF	Prague	0/81	Rough landing due to crew error.
11.10.1984	85243	Omsk	4+174/179	During landing, he collided with airfield vehicles. Dispatcher error.
23.12.1984	85338	Krasnoyarsk	110/110	Fire of the third engine and failure of hydraulic systems.
10.07.1985	85311	Uchkuduk	200/200	The overloaded plane fell into a flat tailspin at supercritical angles of attack due to the fault of the crew.
1986	7O-ACN	Aden	n.d.	Details unknown. At this time, there was a civil war in the country.
21.05.1986	85327	Domodedovo	0/175	Received residual deformation of the structure during flight due to erroneous actions of the crew. The plane has been turned into a teaching aid.
18.01.1988	85254	Krasnovodsk	11/143	Rough landing, resulting in the fuselage breaking in half.
08.03.1988	85413	Veshchevo	9/n. d.	Blown up on the ground by the Ovechkin terrorists.
24.09.1988	85479	Aleppo	0/168	Wind shear, rough landing, the plane broke into two parts.
24.09.1988	85617	Norilsk	0/n.d.	Rough landing. The plane has been turned into a teaching aid.
13.01.1989	85067	Monrovia	0/n.d.	Takeoff was aborted due to overload, runway overrun.
09.02.1989	YR-TPJ	Bucharest	5/5	Training flight. Crashed on takeoff due to engine failure.
20.10.1990	85186	Kutaisi	0/171	Due to overload at extreme forward alignment, the nose landing gear broke.
17.11.1990	85664	Czech	0/6	I was transporting cigarettes from Switzerland, and the cargo caught fire during the flight. The pilots landed the plane in a field, where it completely burned out.
23.05.1991	85097	Pulkovo	2+13/178	Rough landing, the landing gear broke and the plane fell apart.
14.09.1991	CU-T1227	Mexico City	0/112
05.06.1992	LZ-BTD	Varna	0/130	When landing in a rainstorm, it rolled off the runway.
18.06.1992	85282	Bratsk	1+0/0	Burnt out while refueling. The refueling foreman who led the burning fuel tanker away from the airport terminal was killed.
18.06.1992	85234	Bratsk	0/0	Burnt out while refueling along with board 85282.
20.07.1992	85222	Tbilisi	4+24/24	Crash during takeoff due to overload.
01.08.1992	YA-TAP	Kabul	0/0	Destroyed in the parking lot by mortar fire. Previously, it was hit during landing, but then the damage was not very significant.
05.09.1992	85269	Kyiv	0/147	Return to the airport, the left landing gear did not come out, rough landing.
13.10.1992	85528	Vladivostok	0/67
05.12.1992	85105	Yerevan	0/154	During landing, it skidded off the runway.
19.01.1993	85533	Delhi	0/165	Rough landing due to pilot error missing the runway.
08.02.1993	EP-ITD	near Tehran	2+131/131	Collided in mid-air with an Iranian Air Force Su-22.
22.09.1993	85163	Sukhumi	108/132	Damaged by a missile fired by Abkhaz forces during landing at Sukhumi airport. The crew attempted to land, but as a result of a rough collision with the runway, a fire started on board.
23.09.1993	85359	Sukhumi	0/0	Came under fire from Abkhaz troops.
25.12.1993	85296	Grozny	0/172	Rough landing - the nose landing gear broke. Destroyed at a repair station during an airstrike on December 1, 1994.
03.01.1994	85656	Irkutsk	1+125/125	Engine fire during takeoff, causing failure of hydraulic systems.
06.06.1994	B-2610	Xi'an	160/160	Collapsed in the air due to overloads with an incorrectly configured autopilot.
21.01.1995	85455	Karachi	0/117	Could not take off due to overload, rolled off the runway.
07.12.1995	85164	Khabarovsk	98/98	Asymmetrical pumping of fuel from tanks; The PIC mistakenly increased the resulting right bank and the flight became uncontrollable.
29.08.1996	85621	Longyearbyen	141/141	Crashed into a mountain during landing. Crew error.
13.09.1997	11+02	Namibia	24/24	Military. Collided in mid-air with a US Air Force C-141.
15.12.1997	85281	Sharjah	85/86	Landing to the runway. Crew error.
29.08.1998	CU-T1264	Quito	10+70/91	The takeoff was aborted, the plane skidded off the runway and caught fire.
24.02.1999	B-2622	Ruian	61/61	During the descent, a equipment failure occurred.
04.07.2000	HA-LCR	Thessaloniki	0/76	Could not go around due to sudden braking in order to avoid colliding with another aircraft on a busy runway.
03.07.2001	85845	Irkutsk	145/145	Crashed during landing due to piloting errors.
04.10.2001	85693	Black Sea	78/78	Wrongly shot down by a Ukrainian air defense missile during an exercise.
12.02.2002	EP-MBS	Khorramabad	119/119	Crashed while descending.
20.02.2002	EP-LBX	Mashhad	0/n.d.	Rough landing. Damaged during repairs in Vnukovo, written off.
01.07.2002	85816	Uberlingen	69/69	Collided in mid-air with a Boeing 757 due to controller errors.
24.08.2004	85556	Millerovo	46/46	Blown up in the air by a suicide bomber.
22.08.2006	85185	Donetsk	170/170	The pilot's mistake: an attempt to fly over a thunderstorm front at the maximum altitude. Falling into a “flat corkscrew”.
01.09.2006	EP-MCF	Mashhad	29/147	During landing, a tire burst, the plane rolled off the runway and caught fire.
30.06.2008	85667	Pulkovo	0/112	Engine fire during takeoff. The takeoff was aborted and the vehicle was written off.
08.05.2009	EP-MCR	near Mashhad	0/169	Caught in severe turbulence and damaged by hail. Decommissioned.
15.07.2009	EP-CPG	near Qazvin	168/168	Engine destruction at flight level. Lost control and crashed.
24.01.2010	85787	Mashhad	0/170	During a rough landing, the plane's tail fell off and a fire started.
10.04.2010	101	Smolensk	96/96	Crashed during a test approach in dense fog. On board was Polish President Lech Kaczynski and other dignitaries.
04.12.2010	85744	Domodedovo	2/163	Two engines failed after takeoff from Vnukovo. At emergency landing at Domodedovo it rolled off the runway and fell into pieces.
01.01.2011	85588	Surgut	3/134	While preparing for takeoff, a fire started on board: the causes are being investigated, the most likely being an electrical equipment malfunction.

The FSB voiced four main versions of the Tu-154 crash of the Ministry of Defense over the Black Sea: foreign objects entering the engine, low-quality fuel, piloting error or a technical malfunction of the aircraft. Pilots and experts aviation security suggested what most likely could have caused the crash.

Forensic experts from the Investigative Committee arrived at the site where the wreckage of RA-85572 was discovered - in the Black Sea near Sochi. This was reported by sources in law enforcement agencies.

“Tu-154 is one of the most reliable aircraft in the world. But this is a very strict aircraft to fly."

A group of divers from the Ministry of Emergency Situations found the fuselage of the plane at the bottom a mile from the coast - this was reported by the Southern Regional Search and Rescue Team (SRPSO) of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. Earlier it was reported that debris was found in a strip of 400 meters at a depth of 25 meters, 1.5 km from the coast abeam Khosta. Some fragments have already been brought to the surface.

Currently, search teams, including divers, are being assembled at the site where the wreckage was discovered. Now divers from the Ministry of Emergency Situations are carrying out a repeated descent. “There are a lot of small parts at the bottom and practically no large ones,” said the agency’s interlocutor.

Let us recall that in the crash of the Tu-154 plane of the Russian Ministry of Defense that occurred the previous morning, 92 people were killed, including nine media representatives (journalists from Channel One, NTV and the Zvezda TV channel) and 64 artists from the Alexandrov Song and Dance Ensemble. Also on the passenger list is the famous doctor Elizaveta Glinka (Doctor Lisa), who works for the university hospital in Latakia.

Four versions of the FSB

On Monday, the Federal Security Service announced... This is the entry of foreign objects into the engine, low-quality fuel (resulting in loss of power and engine failure), piloting error or technical malfunction of the aircraft.

The RA-85572 board took off at a standard speed of 345 kilometers per hour. No signs of a terrorist attack or sabotage have been detected on board the Tu-154 at this time, the FSB emphasized.

As a source in the special services explained to TASS, after arriving in Adler the plane was taken under guard. Only two border guards and one customs officer climbed on board, so the version of a bomb being brought in can be ruled out. In addition, the landing in Adler was unplanned, since refueling was initially planned in Mozdok, but the route was postponed due to weather conditions.

Representatives of the FSB also reported: the crashed Tu-154 did not transport any military or dual-use cargo, or pyrotechnics.

Earlier, the head of the government commission to investigate the disaster, Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov, also said that the terrorist attack was not the main version of what happened. The technical condition of the aircraft, as well as piloting errors, are considered as the reasons, the head of the Ministry of Transport said. Sokolov clarified that his department does not see the need to introduce additional security measures at the country's airports.

Non-synchronous cleaning of wing mechanization

Test pilot, Hero of Russia Magomed Tolboev noted that when determining the causes of the Tu-154 crash, it is worth considering technical problems. The expert said that he discussed the disaster with colleagues.

All of them, as a priority version, note that “non-synchronized retraction of the flaps” could have led to the death of the aircraft. “In general, this is called “non-synchronous retraction of the wing mechanization,” Tolboev noted.

The interlocutor explained that in this case, the flaps and slats are retracted on one side of the wing, but not retracted on the other side. “It turns out that the plane instantly turns around its axis. Neither the commander nor anyone has time to say a word, they are thrown there like herring in a barrel,” summed up Magomed Tolboev.

There are no parallels with the Tu-104 disaster of 1981

Let us note that earlier there were suggestions in the media that the cause of the death of the Tu-154 was the same as the Tu-104 crash that took place in 1981 in the Leningrad region. Then the plane crashed due to overload in the tail section: the command of the Pacific Fleet, flying on this side, stored heavy suitcases and other cargo in the tail of the liner. During takeoff, the “gifts” moved backwards, causing the plane to crash.

However, as Magomed Tolboev explains, parallels cannot be drawn between the Tu-104 crash in 1981 and the current Tu-154 crash. Such a situation in which the cargo suddenly shifted to the tail cannot happen on the Tu-154, Tolboev noted. “The Tu-154 has a central compartment under the wing near the center section and tail section, in addition, there is an automatic alignment device, which itself determines the transfer of fuel and the presence of a threat on board,” the source explained.

“The plane sets its controls so that the alignment is in one position,” the expert noted. “The Tu-104 did not have an automatic tracking system, and generals and admirals could load whatever they wanted into the tail.”

Small raid

Expert on civil aviation, Director of the ICAA Flight Safety programs Viktor Galenko believes that the most plausible version of what happened is a human factor, and not a technical malfunction. Galenko noted that “air crash statistics indicate a ratio of 8 to 2: out of ten such incidents, in eight cases the cause is the human factor, in two – everything else.”

After repairs, the Tu-154 aircraft was practically like new - the service life of this aircraft was 11%, the expert emphasized. “Tu-154 is one of the most reliable aircraft in the world. It has a huge power supply and a very high degree of wing mechanization,” the interlocutor noted. “This allows the aircraft to take off and land in any conditions – in particular, in high altitude conditions, thin air and heat, which are much more difficult for pilots than the weather conditions that were in Adler.”

“But there is one detail: this is a very strict aircraft to fly,” the expert emphasizes. – The aircraft requires full pilot training at a flight school course. In the USSR, for the "carcass" they first took the test for the An-24 or Yak-40 from the pilot as a second pilot, then they made him the crew commander of the An-24 or Yak-40, then again after a short retraining they "put him in the right seat" (second pilot - note VIEW) Tu-154, and only then, at the age of 40, the pilot could lead the crew of the Tu-154.”

The commander of the crew of the crashed plane, first class pilot Major Roman Volkov, is an experienced aviator, his total flight time was more than 300 hours, Galenko points out. “But the annual flight time of the crew of this aircraft was 200 hours, and this is not enough,” the interlocutor continues. “At the same time, different crews flew on it, so the hypothesis about the low flight time of the crew on this board is confirmed.”

The crashed Tu-154 itself is “an airplane Chkalovsky airfield, formerly in a separate squadron of the Ministry of Internal Affairs,” explains the interlocutor, adding: “I know the squadron commander, since just a month ago I took schoolchildren there on an excursion.”

The main problem for front-line pilots in almost all countries is the very small amount of flight time the crew has flown, Galenko believes. “Corporate aircraft with high fuel consumption and comfortable cabins fly extremely rarely; the military pilots flying them have little annual flying time. And this greatly affects the level of training of the crew,” the interlocutor believes. Back in Soviet times, pilots were forced to undergo simulator retraining even after vacation, but military pilots on these aircraft (the “ceremonial aircraft” of the Chkalovsky airfield) have breaks in flights of more than one month, Galenko notes.

Piloting of this aircraft is an inadequate task for pilots with little flying time, the expert summarizes.

“Oncoming on takeoff, passing on the flight level”

The expert believes that unfavorable weather conditions could not have been the cause of the disaster. “There were no dangerous weather conditions during the incident, the wind was fair during takeoff. At an elevation angle of 20 degrees, it was five meters per second,” Galenko emphasizes.

The peculiarity of Adler Airport is that takeoff and landing are carried out towards the sea. You cannot take off towards the mountains under any circumstances, there is fog there, the expert adds.

“Unfavorable conditions would be a tailwind (take-off is always carried out against the wind, pilots even wish each other “a headwind on takeoff, a tailwind on the flight level”), as well as heat - a plane takes off much better in the cold than in hot weather. However, even in the case of a tailwind and heat, the Tu-154 engine has a huge reserve of thrust. There was no icing or thunderstorms; other aircraft did not report high turbulence,” adds Galenko.

Weather conditions in the area of ​​the airport in Adler at the time of the Tu-154 crash are assessed as easy for piloting an aircraft, Roshydromet reported, which was quoted by "". “About five in the morning Moscow time, the temperature at the ground is +5, the wind is 5 m/s, visibility is 10 km. The weather conditions are quite normal,” the department emphasized. Sochi airport, from where the Tu-154 took off, continued to operate as normal, media reported.

At the same time, according to the online scoreboard, four flights were canceled in Adler on Sunday morning.

Weather conditions have repeatedly caused the death of aircraft around the world. On March 19 of this year, a Boeing 737-800 flying from Dubai crashed while landing in Rostov-on-Don. Due to bad weather, the airliner was unable to land after two attempts, and after making another circle, it crashed near the runway, killing 55 passengers and 7 crew members. The investigation into the causes of the disaster continues.

On August 22, 2006, a Tu-154M airliner flying from Anapa to St. Petersburg crashed near Donetsk after a collision with a severe thunderstorm. There were 170 people on board. The cause of the disaster was blamed on the pilots' erroneous actions when trying to avoid a storm front. On February 12, 2002, an Iranian airline Tu-154 crashed near the Iranian city of Khorramabad, with 119 people on board. The plane crash occurred after difficult weather conditions.

A genetic examination of the bodies of those killed in the Tu-154 plane crash near Sochi will be carried out by forensic experts from the Russian Ministry of Defense. This was announced by the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Major General Igor Konashenkov.

“A decision was made to deliver all those killed in the Tu-154 plane crash of the Russian Ministry of Defense to Moscow for identification and genetic examination by specialists of the 111th Main State Center for Forensic and Criminalistic Expertise of the Russian Ministry of Defense,” Konashenkov said at a briefing.

On the morning of December 25, information appeared that a Tu-154 Russian Ministry of Defense aircraft flying from Sochi to the Khmeimim airbase disappeared from radar.

Something extreme happened in Tu-154 before the crash, expert

The fall of the Tu-154 into the Black Sea immediately after takeoff from Adler airport could have been preceded by an extreme situation on board, which did not allow the crew to transmit a distress signal to the ground, says former shift manager of the main center of the unified air traffic management system of Russia Vitaly Andreev.

“After take-off and a short flight - two minutes - the plane lost contact and did not transmit a signal to the ground about any problems, this may indicate that there was an emergency situation on board - either an external influence on the aircraft, or an encounter with an obstacle, which was unlikely to be there,” says Andreev, who worked in aviation for 47 years.

He adds that “The Tu-154 is a very reliable car, and miracles don’t happen, they don’t just fall.”

“In my practice, there have been cases when Tu-154s landed when all three engines failed, or, for example, the famous landing in the taiga on an abandoned runway,” the expert adds.

“Those versions of problems on board that are now being voiced - unbalance of the rudders, deviation from the established flight path - absolutely could not prevent the crew from transmitting a signal about this to the ground,” added Andreev.

“This means that something extreme happened, from practice - such situations are possible when a ship is hijacked,” he added.

The expert clarified that the data from the self-written intercom (SPU) “will be able to explain with an accuracy of 99.99% what was happening in the cockpit at the time of the disaster.”

A Tu-154 aircraft of the Russian Ministry of Defense, which was heading to Syria, crashed in the Black Sea on Sunday morning.

According to the military department, there were 92 people on board - eight crew members and 84 passengers, including eight military personnel, 64 artists from the Alexandrov ensemble, nine representatives of Russian television channels, the head of the Fair Aid charity foundation Elizaveta Glinka, known as Doctor Lisa, two federal government employees.

The possibility of a terrorist attack on the Tu-154 plane has been practically ruled out - source

The large spread of debris from the Tu-154 that crashed near Sochi is explained by water hammer, a source in the emergency services told Interfax.

“Apparently, when the aircraft collided with the water surface, a water hammer occurred, which resulted in a large scattering of debris,” the source said.

In turn, a source in the security forces told Interfax that a terrorist attack is not considered among the main versions of the disaster and such a version is practically excluded.

“The plane took off from the Chkalovsky airfield, which is a well-guarded military facility. Penetrate there in order to plant it on board explosive device, does not seem possible. In turn, the airport in Sochi is a dual-use airport and is heavily guarded. The entry of unauthorized persons or the carrying of unauthorized items by any employee is excluded,” the source said.

Konashenkov: 27 ships and vessels, 37 divers, 4 helicopters, UAVs and remote-controlled deep-sea vehicles are involved in the search for the plane

Briefing by the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense Igor Konashenkov on the situation with the crash of the TU-154 plane in the Sochi area as of 15:00:

“According to updated data, 10 bodies of the dead have now been lifted aboard the rescue vessel.

The search and rescue force continues to build up in the area where the Ministry of Defense Tu-154 plane crashed.

A search area with an area of ​​10.5 km2 has been formed.

The area is divided into sectors and distributed among the forces involved. The search is organized around the clock. For highlighting coastline at night, floodlights and special equipment are deployed.

The search involves 27 ships and vessels, 37 divers, 4 helicopters, UAVs and remote-controlled deep-sea vehicles.

In the near future, more than 100 deep-sea divers with special equipment will be delivered to the area of ​​the plane crash from other fleets.

In total, more than 3 thousand people take part in search and rescue activities.

At the Adler airfield, teams providing medical and psychological assistance are on duty, and vehicles have been allocated to transport relatives to places of temporary accommodation at the city’s sanatorium and resort institutions.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Tu-154 crash would be thoroughly investigated.

“A thorough investigation into the causes of the disaster will be carried out and everything will be done to provide support to the families of the victims,” he said during an emergency press conference.

About the likelihood of a terrorist attack

On the topic of the likelihood of a terrorist attack.

Air Force Major, pilot instructor Sergei Krasnoperov:

— What could have caused the disaster of this liner, in your opinion?

- Only the “black box” that will be lifted from this liner will tell about this. But, as you say, the versions - pilot error and equipment failure - are the real reasons, as always happens in such cases. But it is too suspicious that the plane, after taking off while climbing, literally a few tens of minutes, disappears from the radar screens.

- Now they have clarified that this happened in the seventh minute, while gaining altitude or during a turn, apparently over the Black Sea.

“This means that the engines were working properly, the fuel was normal. If this happened on takeoff, fuel could be the cause. The situation may be similar to the tragedy in Sharm el-Sheikh; there, too, very little time passed after takeoff.

— Do you mean the version of the terrorist attack?

- Certainly. What is very strange is that a plane crashes on takeoff very rarely, especially of this class. The Tu-154 has three engines and is very reliable. I myself flew on them as a passenger very often.

— Why don’t you look into the plane’s malfunction? After all, the Tu-154 is far from a new aircraft.

- Yes, but they are very reliable. I can look at the design of the aircraft from the point of view of the pilot, and believe me, what is connected with the control of the aircraft, there is such a reliable control system, not like electronics now, but there are cable backup systems, including aircraft control systems, that is, if one system fails , another one enters. Considering the experience of the pilots who now fly these planes, this situation is still very strange to me, that it was only the seventh minute after takeoff. I understand that the plane took off from our airfield, and it was monitored by an electronic surveillance system, so it could not have been that someone was flying up to it, it could have crashed into something.

“Initially it was reported that the signal from the radar screens simply disappeared, but the plane did not send any distress signals.

“This suggests that the plane, as in Sharm el-Sheikh, instantly lost speed and simply fell into a spin position, that is, uncontrollable. In this case, the pilot simply, with such an overload, which happens in this case, not only could not report to the dispatcher, but was also unable to turn on the distress signal. Just imagine, the liner just begins to rotate violently. Therefore, I think the plane was destroyed, as it happened in Sharm el-Sheikh, where its speed was first 780 km/h and then suddenly became 170 km/h, and a loss of altitude of 1000 m. Now we need to look at the radars, exactly how the speed dropped. That is, the plane could glide and land on the water. Recently there was an incident with a Tu-154, when 37 people were saved. The pilots were then able to land the plane on an unfamiliar field in a strong wind, in a heavy snowstorm, and they saved almost all the people.
In this situation, there were simple weather conditions; if something had happened to the plane, to the engine, it would have simply turned around and started gliding towards the airfield and landed in the coastal zone. Even if the plane would have collapsed, the pilots, the crew, and the passengers would have been alive, you know? And then there is a sharp drop, this happens when something abnormal happens, something explodes, something falls off. As a rule, the tail of these planes can only fall off. And in all other cases, the pilot could easily transmit information and turn on the distress signal, but this did not happen. This means that something was abnormal and abrupt in the seventh minute of the flight. So, I can’t blame the crew, and the equipment doesn’t break down so suddenly.

— The scattering of fragments at such a speed, and its speed in the build-up is about 600-700 km/h, already there it goes over, at such a distance it may well be. But if the plane had fallen intact, then there would not have been such scattering of fragments, believe me. The plane fell apart, simply fell apart, which means it exploded, which means that somewhere someone was given a suitcase, considering that it was a flight to Syria, and musicians from the ensemble were flying, they could have brought something with these musical instruments, someone... I could have planted it. Believe me, such scattering of fragments only happens when an airplane is destroyed in the air. It just explodes, that's all. And when the liner just falls, it creates an oil stain, and then parts float up. A plane, if it falls, dives into the water, simply disappears, and is found after some time. And then they even found a person who was already in the coastal zone, damaged by debris. This suggests that the debris fell to the ground in a disorderly manner, which means it exploded in the air.

President of the Alpha Veterans Association Sergei Goncharov.

“With a high degree of probability, I can say that this is not a terrorist attack, for several reasons,” says Sergei Goncharov, president of the association of veterans of the Alpha anti-terror unit. - First. This is an aircraft that is serviced by the Ministry of Defense, and, believe me, the discipline in the Ministry of Defense is still quite serious, and the people who service these flights, they are proven people, naturally have all forms of clearance in order to do this work.
Second. There were people flying on this plane, our comrades, who practically all knew each other, and, as I understand it, no one put strangers on this plane. And the luggage that was there, naturally, was checked by precisely those people who were flying on this plane.
Third. The plane, as I understand it, was not in the air for so long, the sea waters provide opportunities, if it had been an explosion or some kind of flash, then, probably, there would have been eyewitnesses who could have seen it or, at least, could have recorded it . And one last thing. The wreckage of the plane has already been discovered, which means that they did not fly as far apart from each other as happens in some...
- One and a half kilometers for the sea, this distance, as you understand, is absolutely small. All this gives me reason to say that we must lean, as I understand it, towards the versions of either a pilot error, or the refueling that took place that did not meet some criteria. In any case, we must express our condolences to all those who died. Unfortunately, this tragedy has darkened our pre-holiday days. But in any case, I believe that now the Ministry of Defense will carefully look into it and dot the i's. The only thing that confuses me is why the crew could not give any information to the dispatchers. This is a fact that I cannot answer yet, I think the investigation will answer.

Sergei Alekseevich, there were probably similar events in tragic world practice. And why did the crew, if we try to understand now using parallel analogies, couldn’t do the very first thing that every pilot probably does if he understands that the situation is beyond the normal standard - send a distress signal? Using examples of other situations, can you explain how events could have developed, why this could have happened?

- If we are talking about a terrorist act, then when there is an explosion on board the plane or in the luggage compartment, the communication system immediately disappears, and purely technically, the ship’s commander cannot give the dispatcher any information. Apparently, if some kind of technical short circuit occurred here, some technical problem that did not allow the crew to contact the dispatchers (I repeat once again, this is a problem that will be dealt with after the debris is raised)... If only this there was a terrorist attack, at the moment, in any case, there would be indirect evidence of what happened on the plane, in particular, a flash, an explosion, or at least we would have some new, albeit subjective or indirect, hints about that that the plane was blown up or crashed in the air due to an explosion.

From official sources:

“Preliminarily, during the climb, the crew encountered a critical technical malfunction, which led to a disaster,” said an Interfax source in the emergency services.
As a Pravda.ru source at the operational headquarters stated, “so far, according to preliminary data, the situation is as follows. The pilot and crew, and in the case of the Tu-154 it is larger, were professional, they had no flight accidents - everyone is almost sure that this was not a human factor. A professional captain and navigator participated in the landing of the tumbling Tu-154.
This is also not a terrorist attack, with a probability close to one - the plane is maintained and controlled in a special zone, control at Sochi airport has been tight since the time of the Olympics. The weather conditions, let's say, are not the best, yesterday Simferopol was closed due to weather and Sochi was a backup, but they were still flightable. Unless, of course, the liner got caught in a sudden tornado that formed by chance. Or into a flock of birds that “shut up” all the engines simultaneously on takeoff, at the moment of full thrust - there is an ornithopark nearby. Most likely a technical malfunction, and so instantaneous and critical, such as switching the stabilizer to a dive in Rostov, that the crew did not have time to fix it work out, nor report. Because even the failure of two engines on the Tu-154 does not kill; the crew would have landed the plane on the water one way or another.

And it’s stupid when they talk about an old plane, about “it’s already banned.” It was not banned, but withdrawn from use by commercial airlines, because it consumes a lot of fuel, exceeds noise standards, and indeed its interior environment cannot be compared with a Boeing or Airbus. An airplane does not have "old age", it has airworthiness - it is either fit to fly or not. In the USA there are "Douglas" aircraft from the 1950s and 1960s. I will say more, “black boxes” - parametric recorders have already been located, they will be lifted by specialists with bathyscaphes. All debris and bodies, naturally, will also be raised - 70 meters is now an accessible depth.” What happened is undoubtedly a tragedy. The reasons will be sorted out, since the investigation is taken under the tightest control in reality. high level. Decryption of the black boxes will also provide additional information. Now they have already begun to raise the bodies of the dead. According to TASS, by midday, four bodies had been discovered and recovered.

An operational headquarters has been created and is operating in Sochi to receive relatives of the deceased passengers on the plane. Psychological and psychiatric care teams are on duty at Sochi airport. The city mayor held an emergency meeting of the emergency situations commission. "Kommersant correspondent in Krasnodar region conveys that local residents at the time of the disaster they did not see a flash or hear an explosion,” the press notes.
Politonline.ru’s sources in the Russian FSB also explained why everyone who approached the liner, serviced it and was involved in technical training was being checked. “The version of the terrorist attack is not a priority, but it must also be worked out. Yes, the FSB is checking everyone who was in contact with the deceased aircraft, records are being reviewed, interviews are being conducted - to exclude the version, and not because it is being “secretly investigated.”

Test pilot, Hero of the Russian Federation, Anatoly Knyshov:

- The Tu-154 is a completely reliable aircraft, which is used not only by the Ministry of Defense, but also in civil aviation. It has proven itself to be reliable and comfortable. The fact that there were military specialists on board suggests that the plane was in full readiness. Because before each flight there is a check - this type of aircraft has a certain approval, airworthiness certification.
What happened... Anything can happen in aviation, but after takeoff, when the engines are operating at takeoff mode and the crew does not have any information about any malfunctions of individual systems or engines, otherwise, if such information were available, the pilot would follow instructions would turn around and land at the departure airfield. In this situation, we can say that, apparently, there was something on board. Because planes don’t just crash or land in an emergency. But why the crew did not provide information about what happened to them is also a question.

- What are the options for complete failure of the systems on board?

- One of the options is the failure of three engines. But in any case, the crew informs the dispatch service, informs the Ministry of Defense about one reason or another. In this situation, in my opinion, a sudden loss of communication, a sudden depressurization of the aircraft led to the fact that the crew was unable and did not have time to report the reason that happened on board.

Anatoly Nikolaevich, now that they are saying that the plane was refueling in Sochi, could poor quality fuel have caused the emergency? Or is this now more of an exception to the rule?

- When refueling occurs at any airport, both in the Russian Federation and abroad, the crew and crew that services (and I think there is a technical team on board that services this type of aircraft), they always check the fuel type according to the passport , its characteristics and so-called fuel samples are taken even before refueling. Therefore, I cannot yet say that this is the cause of low-quality fuel, only a commission can determine it; they will definitely take samples at the site of the plane crash (residues of fuel will be found somewhere in any case). They will be able to find out the quality of the fuel, the condition of the systems, and the readiness of the crew. Because in any case, if there was low-quality fuel, it would have been impossible for three engines to fail at the same time, which could have led to such a catastrophe. The cause is explosive. There is a sound alarm and light alarm that warns the crew about a particular malfunction. This warning didn't work. Because the warning works for the crew, it provides information so that the crew competently and correctly implements the recommendations that they have already worked on on the ground. It’s sad that this is happening to our colleagues, namely from the Ministry of Defense, precisely to those who were heading there, to a hot spot, where they could support our military personnel before the New Year. This is a tragedy that we will all experience.

The search is now underway. In particular, there was information that the search for the aircraft in the Black Sea was being carried out by 7 sea ​​vessels, a Mi-8 helicopter from Sochi airport joined the search. But there was information that the possible point where the plane crashed was in the mountains. Can you explain why there is such contradictory information coming out now?

- Any aircraft that takes off is monitored by dispatch services, locators and helps the crew correctly build the trajectory to enter the route. If they evade somewhere, the dispatcher says: you are evading. Because on this air route there are possibly several types of aircraft - in the opposite direction, in the same direction. And the dispatch service controls and is responsible, to some extent, for the safety of being on this route. But even if the dispatch service, the locators could not notice where the mark from this type of aircraft was located... Because each dispatcher has the type of aircraft and its call sign displayed on the screen. And when this tag disappears, a command is immediately given to the search service (in this case, these are helicopters that are now searching in the area where the tag may have disappeared). And the situation in the mountains may be such that they have dropped below the detection zone.

- What could be the reason for this behavior of the crew?

- It could have been the explosive nature of the plane itself, that is, an explosion could have occurred, and no one could report it - neither the correspondents who were there, nor the crew themselves. I can't imagine anything else here.

PS. Almost the entire choir of the Alexandrov ensemble died

The deceased director of the Department of Culture of the RF Ministry of Defense.

Elizaveta Glinka. She was also on board the crashed plane.

Dead journalists.

PS2. Regarding the rejoicing freaks from Ukraine and Russia, it can be noted in this regard that at such moments the difference between people and moral monsters is clearly demonstrated.

Alexey Pushkov: Those killed in the disaster are heroes of the war on terror

Chairman of the Russian Federation Council Commission on Information Policy Alexey Pushkov commented on the plane crash in Sochi.

“Those who died in the disaster flew to Syria to support our military. All of them are heroes of the war on terror. Their flight, their impulse was interrupted. Their spirit lives on,” he wrote.

Those killed in the disaster flew to Syria to support our military. All of them are heroes of the war on terror. Their flight, their impulse was interrupted. Their spirit lives on.

Let us remind you that while performing a scheduled flight from Sochi airfield after takeoff, the Tu-154 aircraft disappeared from radar radars. Later, the military department reported that 1.5 kilometers from Black Sea coast Fragments of the Tu-154 hull were discovered at a depth of 50-70 meters in Sochi. Among the passengers were journalists from Channel One, NTV, the Zvezda TV channel, musicians from the Alexandrov Ensemble, as well as Doctor Lisa.

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared nationwide mourning in the country in connection with the crash Russian plane in the Black Sea.

He stated this during an emergency press conference.

“Tomorrow, nationwide mourning will be declared in Russia,” Putin said.

Let us remind you that during a scheduled flight from Sochi airfield after the Tu-154 took off, it disappeared from the radar. Later, the military department reported that fragments of the Tu-154 hull were discovered 1.5 kilometers from the Black Sea coast of Sochi at a depth of 50-70 meters. Among the passengers were journalists from Channel One, NTV, the Zvezda TV channel, musicians from the Alexandrov Ensemble, as well as Doctor Lisa.

Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, singer, Iosif Kobzon was supposed to fly on the Tu-154 plane of the Russian Ministry of Defense that crashed over the Black Sea to Syria. TASS reported this on December 25 with reference to the People's Artist.

“On the 14th we had a concert with them in the Hall of Columns, and Valery Khalilov (director of the Alexandrov Ensemble - approx.) asked me to fly with them, but I said that I have a medical visa and I have to fly for treatment, especially since that I visited Syria with them and Khalilov once. So I said, next time sometime. But see how it turned out next time"

Kobzon said.

He assured that if he was offered, he would be ready to perform again for Russian military personnel in Syria.

“I am sincerely sorry, this is just shocking news for me. This is a great tragedy for culture, for the army audience. They were flying on a combat mission."

Russian TV channel published the first video of the wreckage of a crashed Tu-154

The Russian TV channel Life showed the first footage from the crash site of a Russian Ministry of Defense plane, which fell into the Black Sea. The sent footage shows the wreckage of the Tu-154 military aircraft in the water.

The media published a video of the rescue operation in the area where the Tu-154 crashed

The first video of the rescue operation in the area of ​​the crash of the Ministry of Defense Tu-154 plane has appeared.

Let us remind you that during a scheduled flight from Adler airfield after the Tu-154 took off, it disappeared from the radar. Later, the military department reported that fragments of the Tu-154 hull were discovered 1.5 kilometers from the Black Sea coast of Sochi at a depth of 50-70 meters. Among the passengers were journalists from Channel One, NTV, the Zvezda TV channel and 68 musicians from the Alexandrov Ensemble, as well as Doctor Lisa.

Malfunction, overload, human factor, birds, fuel and terrorist attack - the editors of “360” systematized the main versions of the crash of the Tu-154 aircraft. Based on the results of the first hours of search operations in the area where the Tu-154 plane crashed in the waters of the Black Sea, the following should be stated: the authorities have not yet named the official reasons for the plane crash. However, aviation experts have already made several assumptions.

Malfunction and birds

The priority version is considered to be a technical malfunction of the aircraft, engine failure, or birds getting into them. Near Sochi there is an ornithological park and a migratory bird station. As Interfax reports, citing a source, this could have been the cause of the disaster.

Overload and human factor

Among other versions, piloting error is also cited - that is, the human factor. The version about unfavorable weather conditions is completely refuted by data from the Roshydrometcenter.

According to a source from the St. Petersburg online newspaper “Fontanka”, the plane’s crash could have been caused by weight overload and an error “on the ground.” Thus, the ground staff could have made violations with the placement of the luggage compartment, which in turn negated the crew’s chance to dive or even land on the tail of the aircraft.

According to Kommersant, the engine failure could be caused by spoiled fuel, that is, problems when refueling the aircraft with a chemical composition.

Terrorist attack and plane hijacking

The circumstances of the plane crash indicate that something extreme happened on board. Vitaly Andreev, the former shift manager of the main center of the unified air traffic management system of Russia, stated this to RIA Novosti. Otherwise, he believes, the crew would have had time to transmit a distress signal.

“This means that something extreme happened, from practice - such situations are possible when a ship is hijacked,” he said.

Some media outlets (for example, Fontanka), citing sources in the military and law enforcement agencies, provide data that the Russian FSB is already working out the standard version of the terrorist attack. Law enforcement officials are checking the likelihood of unauthorized entry of persons into the Chkalovsky military airport and into locality in Adler, where the Tu-154 plane was located.

The FSB press service itself does not officially comment on any information. And Interfax’s source in the emergency services even states that the terrorist attack is not even included in the main versions and is completely excluded.

The plane was in good order

Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security Viktor Ozerov told the media that he completely rules out the possibility of a terrorist attack. The opposite opinion was expressed in “” by Vladimir Prokhvatilov, an expert at the Academy of Military Sciences. In his opinion, the plane that took off from the Chkalovsky airfield was a letter one - that is, it had a double crew on board.

“Two aircraft are being prepared for such flights at once - one is the main one, the other is a spare one. Both planes fly around - fly around the box for 30 minutes. After that, the recorder records are handed over for decoding. At the slightest malfunction, the main one is replaced with a spare one. During the entire period of operation of the Tu-154 at the Chkalovsky airfield, such cases were isolated, without catastrophic consequences. Conclusion: the plane took off from the Chkalovsky airfield in good order.

The crews at the Chkalovsky airfield are experienced and have hundreds of hours of flight experience under their belts in all weather conditions. They are also trained to work in emergency situations, as they often transport Department of Defense leadership. The responsibility is high, as is their preparation. The crew did not inform Adler airport dispatchers about the malfunctions on board. Therefore, the version - “piloting error” - is very doubtful.

The “terrorist attack” version, which has not yet been announced, takes place, since the refueling took place early in the morning, at a civilian airfield, for which the Ministry of Defense aircraft was “one of hundreds,” he writes.

Five disasters in 10 years

It is known that this is the fifth plane crash involving a Tu-154 in the last 10 years. Brigades from the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations are already working at the scene of the tragedy. Experts found some parts and debris of the aircraft. It will take them about a week to deliver all the components of the vessel to land.

Rescuers also managed to locate and rescue at least 10 dead. Search operations are currently underway. Service boats of the Ministry of Emergency Situations deliver the found bodies to the pier in the area of ​​​​Cape Vidny.

Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed head of government Dmitry Medvedev to form and head a state commission to investigate the crash of the Tu-154 plane in Sochi. Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov was appointed head of the commission.

Currently, more than 100 divers with special equipment have been sent to the area of ​​the plane crash.

Based on this fact, the Investigative Committee of Russia has already opened a criminal case under the article of the Russian Federation “Violation of flight rules or preparation for them.” A group of investigators with professional experience in investigating plane crashes has already headed to Sochi.

The results of an investigation into the Tu-154 crash over the Black Sea have appeared on the Internet. According to published information, the cause of the tragedy was crew fatigue.

“The cause of the Tu-154-B-2 crash was a violation of the spatial orientation (situational awareness) of the aircraft commander, which led to his erroneous actions with the aircraft controls, as a result of which the aircraft, during the climb, went into descent and collided with the water surface.” , says the report published in the Telegram channel “Captain Vrungel”. The document notes the “lack of adequate response of the aircraft captain” to the reports of the crew members, as well as sound and light signals.

Several factors contributed to the disturbance in spatial orientation: excessive mental stress, emotional and physiological fatigue, and the captain’s lack of attention distribution skills. The tragedy was also caused by the lack of mandatory control over flight operations by the military command.

“Military transport aviation was not ready for the large-scale challenges that the task of organizing a continuous air bridge to Syria posed to it. The problem is complex, the lack of trained crews, the outdated training and control system, the command’s disregard for the crews’ work and rest schedule,” – noted the author of the Telegram channel.

The report provides a list of violations committed at the military base during the preparation for the Tu-154 flight. For example, the crew was composed of different squadrons and did not include a radio operator or on-board translator. There were no classes or training for the pilots, and they underwent a medical examination less than two hours before departure.

Experts added that during the refueling of the Tu-154, no passengers were boarded or disembarked, and no additional cargo was placed on board. Problems arose seven seconds into the flight, as the captain "had difficulty determining his position on the airfield due to his understanding of the take-off course."

Let us recall that the crash of the Tu-154 of the Ministry of Defense occurred on December 25, 2016 near Sochi. The plane crashed into the Black Sea. All 92 people on board were killed, including journalists from federal channels, the head of the Fair Aid Foundation, Elizaveta Glinka, as well as the director and artists of the Alexandrov Ensemble.