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Russian Passenger Jet Crashes in Suspected Terror Attack
Thursday, October 4, 2001
(17:05)
Text: Gazeta.Ru & combined report

“Bearing in mind the recent international developments, terrorism is currently being treated as the most probable cause."

A Tu-154 passenger jet bound from Tel Aviv to the Russian city of Novosibirsk in Western Siberia crashed into the Black Sea on Thursday afternoon. At the time of writing the fate of the 66 passengers and crew is not clear, but the probability of there being any survivors is small -- eyewitnesses have reported seeing a powerful explosion on board the plane.

The Tu-154 belonged to Siberia Airlines and was making a charter flight, number 1812. A spokeswoman at Tel Aviv airport said, "It was a regular weekly charter flight that leaves between 9 and 10 a.m. every Thursday." Another Tel Aviv airport official said: "All flights have the same security checks. It's a direct flight."

The official said the flight was not a tourist flight and said that the airport’s controllers have no information about the cause of the crash.
(More: Gazeta.Ru News Source)
2001 © Gazeta.Ru

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Russian Airliner Explodes on Flight from Tel Aviv
Thursday, October 4, 2001
The Associated Press

The Tupolev 154 went down in pieces 114 miles (182 kilometers) off the Russian coastal city of Adler, located on the Georgian border.

MOSCOW -- AP
A missile fired during a military training exercise in Ukraine appears to have accidentally brought down a Russian airliner flying from Israel to Siberia, U.S. officials said Thursday.

The plane crashed into the Black Sea with at least 77 aboard.

A defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the land-based surface-to-air missile was fired from the Crimean region of Ukraine. Ukraine is the only country known to be conducting military exercises in the Black Sea area, the official said.

The downing of the airliner appeared to be accidental, officials said.

A second U.S. military official said the Pentagon is attempting to clarify exactly what has happened. The officer said the incident did not appear to be a collision of two aircraft.
(More: The Russian Journal News Source)
Copyright © 1999-2001 Norasco

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Russian Plane Explodes in Flight
Thursday, October 4, 2001
The Associated Press

The surface-to-air missile [believed to be an S-200] can fly faster than three times the speed of sound, has a range of up to 185 miles and can hit targets above 100,000 feet, according to several military publications.

MOSCOW -- AP
A Russian airliner carrying at least 76 people from Israel exploded and plunged into the Black Sea on Thursday, raising fears of a terrorist attack.

U.S. officials said a missile fired during Ukrainian military exercises apparently downed the plane by accident. However, speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior Bush adviser later said the U.S. government has not ruled out terrorism.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said terrorists may have caused the crash and he had no reason to doubt a Ukrainian denial which stressed missiles used in the exercise did not have the range to reach the airliner.

The chartered Tupolev 154 went down in pieces 114 miles off the Russian coastal city of Adler, located on the Georgian border, said Vasily Yurchuk of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
(More: Russia Post News Source)
Copyright 2001 Associated Press.

Hey, Larry.

The plane was at 36,300 feet (nearly 7 miles up), according to the Armenian airline pilot, and the article mentions an S-200 as a possible culprit, but it also gives a top range of up to 185 miles, with a ceiling above 100,000 feet. The cited exercises, though, were said to have been approx. 160 miles from the crash site, 25 miles shy of the max range.

Question:
Does the range include climb?

Either way, bird was nearing its life-limit. Either the ground troops were just hoping it would peter out and miss any shipping lanes (very doubtful to me), or this was not a military error. There was plenty of time to detonate it.

Is the Ukrainian military really that bad?

Dan