Click Here Most likely a terrorist act from the Chechens, in my opinion. The fact one of the airliners exploded before crashing is a strong clue. One taking fire is stuff that can happen, but explosions are something we don't see much.
For those that want to see more details on this, there's a very developed thread over at Airliners.Net. If it is indeed terrorism, then it's a horrible tragedy made even worse by human anger, greed and selfishness. There's also talks floating around that it could be fuel contamination, which would also cause a few airliners to flame out without warning....however, this seems unlikely given the circumstances. The flights are: - Volga-Avia 1304 (Moscow/DME - Volgograd) - Tupolev 134 (? on the aircraft type) - Sibir 1047 (Moscow/DME - Sochi) - Tupolev 154 The TU-134 is an older, Russian-style DC-9 (what Northwest has tons of, for the uninitiated). The TU-154 is a direct copy (well, almost) of the Boeing 727-200, right down to the engine configurations. It's generally a safe airplane, the -134 less so, but this still reeks of terrorism. Many people have the idea that since it's a Russian airliner, it's inherently unsafe...this is only partly true. They're in service longer than Western-built airliners, but they have impeccable maintainance, and are generally very safe and reliable. To have two go down within minutes of each other isn't mechanical, keeping in mind that Russian airliners are built for the environment that they fly in, and no two would fall apart like that together. Tupolev 134A - Technical Tupolev 154M - Technical Saddening. The crew and passengers are in my prayers.
I like your attention to detail SmashPilot. This is tragic and frightening, being that my Dutch family members were planning on going to Moscow a few weeks ago.
Thanks TeMpEsT. Not trying to be macabre or anything...just giving the facts so everyone can understand the situation. I know more than anybody else here when it comes to flying... :chemist: Some more that I dug up... The Tupolev 134A was RA-65080. The Tupolev-154M was RA-85556, not able to find any pictures of this one in the database. This aircraft had the code "7500" entered into the transponder before it went missing. 7500 is the universal code for hijackings. I'll post more as I get it. For now, let us all pray for the victims of this terrible tragedy. My heart goes out to everybody involved, and indeed the entire nation of Russia.
This is a real tragedy! But still I don't think it's right to blame Chechens for every terrorist act that happens in Russia. Of course, everyone knows that Chechen terrorists are the most likely to have done this like they killed their own president Ahmat Kadyrov but I, personally, wouldn't blame them before anything is proved!
Those planes are almost as reliable as any Western airliners. In fact, I think that, like you said, the standards by wich they're built make them safer that other airliners (it's how they take care of those after that scares me ). If only one went down, the door is wide open to all kinds of technical problems. However, 2 going down in a short time just can't be normal. If one was lost on radar, can we suppose someone shut the electric systems down? Fire (Swissair crash) caused by electrical problems? Hijacking? Surface-to-air missile? Wich condition is the wreck in? It's stuff we won't know for a while, after all, it's Russia... There are few people to blame for that. Else than the Chechens, who would attack Russian interests before Western interests?
Terrible.....this is the first time I heard of this. :whistle: If it was hijacked it could have been terrorists, but that term is so vague it could have been a Russian group who did it, even though it was probably Chechens, whom the Russians have been trying to eliminate for decades. There's a REASON why terrorism happens, I think. Its not just evil people who think 'I want to blow up a plane for fun'. Its people who have been afflicted by a country, and then get so fanatical in their hate that they will go to any length to gain revenge on that country. It doesn't make it right, but it happens. :wth:
Russian authorities are now blaming fuel contamination as the cause of the crashes...they're saying that it wasn't terrorism. However, this is Russia, and news reports can still be dodgy at times, so don't always believe everything from there... I'l see what comes out of this, but for now, here's the source... Russia Says Crashes Not Terror-Related
Okay. What I don't get is why blame everything that happens in Russia on the Chechens. Also, just because a plane crashes dosn't mean it's a terrorist attack.
You're telling me that having two planes crash within three minutes of each other seems like a normal coincidence to you? For one thing, the hijacking alarm on one of the planes was pushed by a pilot just a minute before the plane crashed. The second plane exploded before it hit the ground, according to eyewitnesses. Not to mention that there's elections coming up in Russia and I'm sure the chechens would like a certain member into office for their well-being, so they swing the vote.
Considering the fact the planes didn't take off as close as said previously (they took off in fact about half an hour apart) tells me that if it was fuel contamination, they would've blown up half an hour apart... I read such a problem just means the engines can't run anymore (well, it's a big one, yes, but...) but people reported an explosion...