Russian plane crash: Black box found in wreckage

The device, which contains information that could help identify the cause of Sunday’s crash, is the first flight data recorder to be recovered from the Tu-154 jet, which came down two minutes after taking off from Sochi airport.

The black box will be sent to Moscow for analysis, a defence ministry official told TASS news agency.

According to the Interfax news agency, a second black box has been found in the wreckage but not yet raised to the surface.

All 84 passengers and eight crew members were killed in the crash, including dozens of singers in Russia’s world-famous military choirwho were on their way to Syria to entertain troops.

Russia’s federal security service said it had “no signs or facts” to suggest the crash was an act of terror.

An investigation is focusing on pilot error, a technical fault, bad fuel and a foreign object in the engine as four possible causes.

Russia has grounded all its Tu-154 jets until it is known what brought down the aircraft.

The Russian defence ministry said the plane that crashed was built in 1983 and underwent factory check-ups and maintenance in 2014.

Search and rescue teams have recovered 12 bodies and 156 body fragments, it added.

On Monday, rescue workers recovered the plane’s fuselage and brought it to shore.

Fragments of the jet were found 27 metres underwater, including “two elements of the plane’s control mechanism”.

More than 3,000 people and 27 ships have been involved in the search operation. news.sky.com