The crash of an Airbus A320 carrying 113 people off Russia’s Black Sea coast on Wednesday was mostly likely a result of poor weather conditions, Russian and Armenian officials said.
The crash occurred as the aircraft made a second landing attempt at Sochi’s Adler airport after rain had severely reduced visibility, said a senior official with Armenian national airline Armavia, Andrei Agatyanov.
The pilot had decided to head back to the Armenian capital Yerevan, but then made an about turn after being informed that the rain had cleared, Agatyanov told Agence France-Presse in Yerevan.
No distress signal had been received from the plane, an official with Russia’s air traffic control authority, Alexander Neradko, was quoted by Interfax as saying.
”The plane came in for landing. The meteorological conditions changed sharply, requiring a decision to go round for a second time, after which the plane disappeared from the radar screen,” Neradko said.
Those who were on board the plane included five children and eight crew members, Agatyanov said.
The bodies of 18 passengers had been recovered from the scene and about 20 boats from Russia’s emergency situations ministry were searching the site, the Interfax news agency quoted an official from the ministry as saying.
Debris floated in the water about 6km from shore, including body parts, pieces of fuselage, baggage and life vests, Interfax news agency said.
Rescue work was being hampered by continued heavy rain.
The plane disappeared from radar screens at 2:15 am (2215 GMT) as it was approaching the airport near Sochi, a semi-tropical resort in the Russian Caucasus, close to the border with Georgia.
The emergency situation ministry earlier said earlier it was dispatching a hydroplane and divers from Moscow to help in the rescue work.
The wreckage of the plane lay at a depth of about 300m below the surface of the water.
A criminal case has been opened for violation of air traffic procedures leading to loss of life, the prosecutor general’s office announced.
Armenian officials were to fly to the scene later on Wednesday, as were relatives of the victims, news agencies said. – AFP
