Passengers on the flight that crashed into the Black Sea moments after takeoff Sunday included 64 members of the Alexandrov Ensemble, the Russian military choir, who were traveling to Russia’s Khmeimim Air Base in Syria to serenade Russian personnel on New Year’s Eve.

SOCHI, Russia — A Russian aircraft bound for Syria carrying a famed military band to entertain Russia’s forces there crashed into the Black Sea moments after takeoff Sunday, and authorities said all 92 people aboard were believed dead.

The cause of the crash is under investigation, although initial Russian news media reports indicated it was a technical failure rather than terrorism.

The Russian military has had only minor casualties throughout its deployment in Syria, but the country has experienced a series of setbacks in recent days.

On Dec. 19, the Russian ambassador to Turkey was assassinated at an art exhibit in Ankara, with the killer yelling “don’t forget Aleppo, don’t forget Syria!”

That came not long after forces from the Islamic State recaptured the storied city of Palmyra, forcing the Russian garrison that had been stationed there since helping to take the city last spring to flee.

The military plane, a Russian-made Tupolev Tu-154, disappeared from radar two minutes after taking off from the resort town of Sochi. Russia’s official weather forecast agency said that conditions near the airport were “normal, easy,” the Interfax news agency reported. The airplane was technically fit, the Defense Ministry said.

Wreckage of the plane, which was carrying 84 passengers and eight crew members, was found in the sea, most of it about one mile from shore, the Russian Defense Ministry said. No survivors have been found at the crash site, Russian officials said.

Passengers on the flight, which originated in Moscow and stopped in Sochi to refuel, included 64 members of the Alexandrov Ensemble, the Russian military choir, who were traveling to Russia’s Khmeimim Air Base in Syria. The band planned to serenade Russian personnel in Syria on New Year’s Eve.

President Vladimir Putin of Russia deployed Russian armed forces in Syria in September 2015, ostensibly to fight terrorism but primarily to prop up President Bashar Assad of Syria, the leader of the lone remaining Russian ally in the region, whose forces have been fighting an insurgency for nearly six years.

Russian forces have been instrumental in helping the Damascus government regain the initiative, with the final rebels expelled from the besieged city of Aleppo on Thursday.

Three journalists from Channel One, Russia’s main television station, were on the plane, as were journalists from the Zvezda and NTV television networks, news reports said.

Yelizaveta P. Glinka, a prominent Russian philanthropist and a member of the presidential council on human rights and civil society, was also on the list of people on board. Putin recently honored Glinka with a state award for her human rights and charity work. Valery V. Khalilov, the ensemble’s artistic director, was also on the plane, according to the list of passengers.

Putin expressed his condolences to relatives of the victims, and he declared Monday a national day of mourning. (Christmas is not celebrated as an official holiday in Russia on Dec. 25, because the Russian Orthodox Church observes it on Jan. 7.)

“First of all, I would like to express my sincere condolences to the families of our citizens, who died today, as a result of an aviation catastrophe over the Black Sea this morning,” Putin said in St. Petersburg, according to remarks published on the Kremlin’s website.

He also ordered Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to establish a state commission, headed by the transportation minister, Maxim Sokolov, to investigate the crash. The Defense Ministry said that 11 bodies had been recovered as search efforts continued, Russian news agencies reported.

A makeshift memorial was installed inside the Sochi airport, and people brought candles and flowers. Relatives of the victims were whisked away by authorities to a specially designated zone, where they were treated by psychiatrists.

Sokolov told journalists inside the terminal building that the rescue effort would not stop at night.

“It is premature to say anything about the causes of this tragedy,” he told reporters.

More than 30 vessels were deployed in the recovery operation, Sokolov said, and the Defense Ministry said more than 100 divers had been sent to the crash site.

Founded in the Soviet era, the Alexandrov Ensemble, which had performed in Syria earlier this year, is the official band of the Russian armed forces. It consists of an orchestra, a choir and a dance ensemble, and is one of the two Russian orchestras allowed to use the title “Red Army Choir.”

The ensemble was founded by Alexander Alexandrov, a prominent Soviet composer and author of the music of the Russian anthem, and his grandson Yevgeny told Meduza, a Russian news website, that “the best members of the ensemble died.”

“All the best soloists, the whole choir,” he said. “Everything will collapse now. The best ones are gone.”

Several independent news outlets in Russia reported that the Alexandrov Ensemble planned to give a concert in Aleppo. In May, the Russian military had flown a symphony orchestra led by one of its best known conductors, Valery Gergiev, to mark the reclaiming of Palmyra.

Until recently, the Tu-154, which was designed in the 1960s, was one of the most widely used civilian aircraft in Russian aviation. The plane that crashed on Sunday was made in 1983, underwent planned maintenance work in the fall, and was operated by an experienced pilot, the Defense Ministry said.

Russian airlines have mostly replaced outdated Soviet planes with new ones in recent years and have vastly improved the overall safety record. Many government agencies continue to fly the Tu-154 and other old Soviet aircraft, however.

The age and reputation of the Tu-154, as well as the fact that the aircraft had flown out of secure military airfields, meant most senior officials speaking publicly ruled out the possibility that an attack had caused the crash. But there was speculation by a few aviation experts, echoed by some officials, that terrorism could not be ruled out given the suddenness with which the plane disappeared and the size of the debris field.

“For us the worst version is an act of terrorism, because if this is the case, this will mean that we have paid another bill for Aleppo,” Vadim Lukashevich, an aviation expert, told Dozhd, an independent television station.

In one of Russia’s most recent air disasters, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for planting a bomb onboard a Russian civilian Airbus that crashed in Egypt in October 2015, killing all 224 people on board in a flight from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheik to St. Petersburg.

Another Russian-made military plane crashed in eastern Siberia on Dec. 19, seriously injuring 16 of the 39 people on board, and aviation authorities recently grounded the country’s newest civilian airliner, the Sukhoi Superjet 100, because of concerns about metal fatigue. </s> MOSCOW -- The Latest on the crash of a Russian aircraft with 92 people on board en route to Russia's air base in Syria (all times local):

A Russian official says the crash of a Russian military passenger plane into the Black Sea could have been caused by a technical malfunction or a crew error, but he believes it could not have been terrorism because the plane was operated by the military.

Viktor Ozerov, head of the defense affairs committee at the upper house of Russian parliament, says in remarks carried by the state news agency RIA Novosti that he "totally excludes" terrorism as a possible cause of the crash.

The plane was en route to Russia's air base in Syria with 92 people on board when it crashed shortly after taking off from the resort town of Sochi. At least one body has been found and there is no word on whether anyone survived.

The Defense Ministry has released a list of the passengers. They include 64 members of the Alexandrov Ensemble, among them its leader, Valery Khalilov. The Alexandrov Ensemble is the official choir of the Russian military, and it also includes a band and a dancing company.

The Russian Defense Ministry says rescuers have found fragments of the Tu-154 plane that was carrying 92 people en route to the Russian military base in Syria.

The ministry said earlier that the plane disappeared from radars shortly after takeoff from the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Sunday. It carried members of the world-famous Alexandrov military choir.

The ministry says rescue teams found fragments of the plane less than a mile from shore at a depth of 50-70 meters. </s> (bbc.com) A Russian military plane with 92 people on board has crashed into the Black Sea, Russia’s defence ministry says.

The plane disappeared from radar two minutes after taking off from the resort of Sochi at 05:25 (02:25 GMT). Debris and one body have been found, with no reports of any survivors.

The defence ministry said the Tu-154 was carrying soldiers, 64 members of the famed Alexandrov military music ensemble, and nine reporters.

It was flying to Latakia in Syria.

The flight originated in Moscow and had landed at Adler airport in Sochi for refuelling.

The defence ministry said in a statement: “Fragments of the Tu-154 plane of the Russian defence ministry were found 1.5km (one mile) from the Black Sea coast of the city of Sochi at a depth of 50 to 70m (165-230ft).”

An audio recording played on Russian media and said to be of the final conversation between air traffic controllers and the plane reveals no sign of any difficulties being faced by the crew.

Voices remain calm until the plane disappears and the controllers try in vain to re-establish contact.

Reports from the area said flying conditions were favourable.

President Vladimir Putin has ordered a state commission to look into the crash and sent his condolences to the families and friends of the victims.

The defence ministry has published a passenger list (in Russian), showing that 64 of those on board were from the Alexandrov Ensemble, including its director, Valery Khalilov.

There were nine journalists, eight soldiers, two civil servants and eight crew members.

Also on board was Elizaveta Glinka, known as Dr Liza, the executive director of the Fair Aid charity and the inaugural winner of Russia’s state prize for achievements in human rights.

Mr Konashenkov said the plane was carrying passengers to a New Year’s performance for Russian troops deployed in Syria.

The performance was scheduled to take place at Russia’s Hmeimim air base, near Latakia.

Russia has been carrying out air strikes in support of Syrian government forces who are battling rebels opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

In April 2010, a Tu-154 plane crashed in Smolensk, western Russia, killing all 96 people on board, including Polish President Lech Kaczynski.

A Tu-154, operated by Siberian Airlines, was shot down over the Black Sea in October 2001, killing 78 people.

The plane was travelling from Tel Aviv in Israel to Novosibirsk in Russia, and most of the passengers were Israeli.

The Ukrainian military initially denied involvement but officials later admitted the plane could have been hit accidentally during a training exercise.(bbc.com) </s> A Russian defence force Tu-154 aircraft carrying 92 people has crashed into the Black Sea, according to reports.

The Russian defence ministry said that the plane carrying musicians from the famous Alexandrov military choir to a New Year concert for troops in Syria went missing soon after taking off from the resort of Sochi on Sunday.

A total of 84 passengers and eight crew were on board when the plane dropped off radar shortly after take-off at 5:40am local time (0240 GMT).

The ministry later said fragments of the plane, a Soviet-designed three-engine airliner, had been found by rescuers about 1.5km from the shore in water around 50-70 metres deep. There were no reports of survivors.

Russia’s RIA news agency, citing an unidentified security source, said preliminary data indicated the plane had crashed because of a technical malfunction, Reuters reported.

Those on board included Russian servicemen and artists from the Russian military’s official choir, the Alexandrov Ensemble, who were on their way to celebrate the upcoming New Year with air force personnel at the Khmeimim air base near Latakia in western Syria, the defence source told RIA. Nine Russian journalists were also on board, it said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies that Vladimir Putin had been informed of the situation and was being kept abreast of the search operations. A criminal investigation had been launched to determine whether safety breaches had led to the crash.

Tu-154 aircraft have been involved in a number of accidents in the past.

In April 2010 many high-ranking Polish officials, including then president Lech Kaczynski, were killed when a Tu-154 airliner went down in thick fog while approaching the Smolensk airport in western Russia.

Moscow has been conducting a bombing campaign in Syria in support of long-time ally president Bashar al-Assad since September 2015 and has taken steps to boost its presence in the country.

Putin in October approved a law ratifying Moscow’s deal with Damascus to deploy its forces in the country indefinitely, firming Russia’s long-term presence in the country.

Russian warplanes have flown out of the Khmeimim base to conduct air strikes in Syria, and the base is also home to an S-400 air defence system. </s> The plane may have been affected by a bird flying into its engine, news agency RIA-Novosti reported, quoting a statement from the defense ministry,

The plane was gaining altitude after taking off from Hmeimim airbase in Syria before it crashed, the ministry said.

Eyewitnesses reported seeing a Russian military jet fall in the water off the coast of the town of Jableh, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Hmeimim, which is near Latakia, about 241 kilometers (150 miles) north of Damascus, is Russia's largest airbase in Syria.

In March, 39 people, including military personnel, were killed when a Russian transport plane crashed while trying to land at Hmeimin, Russian state media reported. All 33 passengers and six crew members were killed in the crash, RIA-Novosti reported, citing the Defense Ministry. In December 2016, a Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft crashed after taking off from the Adler airport near the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, killing 84 passengers and eight crew members . The plane was carrying more than 60 members of the Alexandrov Ensemble, the Russian army's official dance and choir company, on its way to Syria to give a holiday performance for troops. </s> MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian passenger plane with 92 people aboard, including a well-known military band, crashed into the Black Sea on its way to Syria on Sunday minutes after takeoff from the resort city of Sochi, the Defense Ministry said.

The Tu-154, which belonged to the Defense Ministry, was taking the Alexandrov choir to a concert at the Russian air base in Syria.

A total of 84 passengers and eight crew members were on board the plane when it dropped off of radars minutes after taking off in good weather. Emergency services found fragments about 1.5 kilometers (less than one mile) from shore at a depth of 50 to 70 meters (165 to 230 feet.) The cause of the crash wasn't immediately known.

Rescuers already have found one body and personal documents belonging to some of those on board. There was no word of survivors.

Nine Russian journalists, including a TV crew from Channel One, were also among the passengers. The plane was headed to the Hemeimeem air base in Syria's coastal province of Latakia.

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was personally coordinating the rescue efforts, and President Vladimir Putin has received official reports on the incident.

The Tu-154 is a Soviet-built three-engine airliner designed in the late 1960s. More than 1,000 have been built, and they have been used extensively by carriers in Russia and worldwide.

In recent years, Russian airlines have replaced their Tu-154s with more modern planes, but the military and some other government agencies in Russia have continued to use them. </s> A pilot error or possible technical fault most likely caused the Russian military plane to crash into the Black Sea on Sunday, Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said on Monday, emphasising that authorities were not looking at terrorism as a cause, AP reported. The flight was heading to Latakia, Syria, after making a brief stop at Sochi for refuelling. It crashed into the sea minutes after taking off with 92 people on board, who are all feared dead.

While Sokolov said Russia did not see the need to up security measures at airports despite the Syrian connection to the crash, aviation experts have highlighted factors that suggest a terror attack. “Possible malfunctions...certainly would not have prevented the crew from reporting them,” Vitaly Andreyev, a former senior Russian air traffic controller, told news agency RIA Novosti. The fact that the debris of the Defense Ministry’s Tu-154 plane was scattered over a wide area in the sea was another noted factor indicating a terror strike.

Rescue teams, including 139 divers, recovered 11 bodies and “154 fragments” of bodies by Monday morning, said Major General Igor Konashenkov, spokesperson for the Defence Ministry, BBC reported. The bodies have been flown to Moscow to be identified. Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered an investigation into the crash and also declared Monday a nationwide day of mourning.

The hunt is on to recover the flight recorders, but the Russian transport minister said it would be a challenge to locate them as the devices did not have radio beacons. Authorities are combing an area of 10 sq km in the Black Sea to find fragments of the aircraft and the bodies of those who were on board, which included Russia’s world famous military choir. </s> The Latest on the crash of a Russian aircraft with 92 people on board en route to Russia's air base in Syria (all times local):

The loss of so many talented colleagues is devastating to members of the Russian Defense Ministry choir who did not get on the plane that crashed into the Black Sea.

The choir was on its way to perform a New Year's concert at a Russian air base in Syria when their plane crashed Sunday right after takeoff from Sochi. All 92 people aboard are presumed dead.

Vadim Ananyev, a soloist for the Alexandrov Ensemble, had gotten permission to skip the concert to help his wife as they just had a new baby.

Ananyev tells The Associated Press "I have lost my friends and colleagues, all killed, all five soloists — I feel in complete disarray."

He says "it is such a shame. I have known these people for 30 years. I know their wives and children. I feel terrible for the children and for all that I have lost."

Ananyev says he has received condolences from all over Russia and from abroad.

People are bringing flowers to the office of the Russian choir whose members have died in a plane crash over the Black Sea as Russia holds a day of mourning.

All 84 passengers and eight crew on the Russian military's Tu-154 plane are believed dead after it crashed shortly after takeoff from the southern Russian city of Sochi. The passengers included dozens of singers in Russia's world-famous military choir, nine Russian journalists and Russian doctor known for her work in war zones.

Red and white carnations have piled up at tables outside the Moscow office of the Alexandrov Ensemble, which was to have performed at a New Year's concert at the Russian base in Syria. Mourners also lit candles and brought flowers to Channel One and NTV, whose TV journalists were going to Syria to cover the concert, and to a charity founded by Dr. Yelizaveta Glinka, who was on the plane bringing medicines to Syria.

Russian TV channels have taken entertainment shows off their programs and outdoor seasonal celebrations have been scrapped across Russia.

Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov says a pilot error or a technical fault are likely to blame for Sunday's crash of a Russian Tu-154 carrying 92 passengers and crew. The military plane crashed into the Black Sea on its way from the southern Russian city of Sochi to Syria.

Among its passengers were members of the world-famous Russian army choir who planned to perform at a New Year's concert at the Russian military base in Syria.

Russian emergency crews are aiming to work all night searching the Black Sea off Sochi for victims and plane debris after a Russian Tu-154 carrying 92 passengers and crew crashed right after takeoff before dawn.

More than 3,000 people — including over 100 divers flown in from across Russia — were working Sunday from 32 ships and several helicopters to search the crash site, the Defense Ministry said. Drones and submersibles were being used to help spot bodies and debris. Powerful spotlights were brought in so the search could go on around the clock.

Emergency crews found fragments of the plane about 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) from shore. By Sunday evening, rescue teams had recovered 11 bodies and Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said fragments of other bodies were also found.

The military plane was flying from the southern Russian city of Sochi to Syria. Among its passengers were members of the world-famous Russian army choir who planned to perform at a New Year's concert at the Russian military base in Syria.

Russia's transport minister says investigators are looking into all possible reasons why a Russian military plane crashed into the Black Sea with 92 people on board, including the option of a terror attack.

Earlier, a Russian official had downplayed any suggestion of a terror attack. But on Sunday afternoon, after being asked if investigators are looking into a possible terror attack, minister Maxim Sokolov said an "entire spectrum" of possible reasons is being considered.

He added it's premature to speculate about the cause of Sunday's crash.

The Tu-154 plane belonging to the Defense Ministry crashed into the Black Sea two minutes after takeoff Sunday morning from the Russian city of Sochi. The plane was heading to Syria, carrying members of the world-famous Russian army choir to a New Year concert at the Russian military base.

All aboard are believed to have died, and so far rescuers have recovered 10 bodies. </s> (CNN) -- One of the two black boxes on a Russian military jet that crashed into the Black Sea with 92 people on board has been found, the country's Defense Ministry said Tuesday, according to the state-run Sputnik news agency.

The flight data recorder will be sent to a central research institute in Lyubertsy, where officials hope to get some insight into why the Tupolev Tu-154 plunged into the sea shortly after takeoff from Sochi on Sunday morning.

The flight data recorder was found 1,600 meters from the shore at a depth of 17 meters, the ministry said in a statement, as rescuers carry out a massive search operation in the sea.

The other black box -- the cockpit voice recorder -- is still missing.

The ministry has said there are probably no survivors.

Those on board included 64 musicians from the army's official choir, the Alexandrov Ensemble; nine reporters; the head of the Spravedlivaya Pomoshch charity, Elizaveta Glinka; two federal civil servants; and eight crew members.

The choir was flying to Syria to perform for Russian air force pilots during the holiday season, the Defense Ministry has said.

Glinka was taking medicine and other supplies to a local hospital in Syria, her colleague and friend Dr. Sergey Kurkov told CNN affiliate RBC.

Terrorism was not a likely cause of the crash, Kremlin spokesman Dimitri Peskov said Monday.

Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said it was assumed the plane had crashed due to technical malfunction or pilot error.

The plane had taken off from Moscow and was headed to the Russian Hmeymim airbase in Latakia, Syria, where Russia has a large military presence. En route to Syria, the plane landed in Sochi to refuel.

Divers found the jet's fuselage about a mile offshore in the sea at the depth of 27 meters, RIA Novosti reported.

Thirteen bodies and 150 pieces of debris have been recovered so far, the Itar-Tass news agency reported, citing a source in security agencies.

About 3,500 people are taking part in the search, while 39 ships and cutters, 135 divers, seven deep-water vehicles and several aircraft have been deployed.

CNN's Susannah Cullinane, Ashley Fantz,, Max Blau and Sarah Sirgany contributed to this report.
A Russian Tu-154 military passenger airplane carrying 92 people including the Alexandrov Ensemble crashes into the Black Sea shortly after takeoff from Sochi. The airplane was headed towards Khmeimim, Syria. The Russian Armed Forces are actively involved in the Syrian Civil War.