Putin Orders Crashed Tu-154 Plane Black Box Found

Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued an executive order to find the black box from the TU-154 passenger plane crashed Thursday. The President directed a joint briefing prepared by the Defense Minister and the head of the Federal Security Service - FSB on the situation surrounding the airliner crash to urgently conduct such tests as are required to investigate the accident and "to try to find the black box" to establish the particulars, if the depth on site permits. FSB Director Nikolai Patrushev told the head of state that a boat and a rescue vessel had set off to the plane crash site. A plane is flying over the site. Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov told the President that a ship is heading for the scene of the accident from Novorossiisk. The TU-154 plane fell in neutral waters some 109 kilometers off Novorossiisk.