State commission: Tu-154 was downed. File closed?

The chairman of the state commission for investigating the reasons of the Russian Tu-154 plane crash (Sibir airlines), the Secretary of the Russian Security Council Vladimir Rushaylo announced the preliminary results of the commission’s investigation. The results were exposed at the press-conference in the Russian resort city of Sochi. Ukraine agreed with the results.

Rushaylo stressed, the results were made on the ground of the detailed research performed by the technical commissions of the Inter-State aviation committee, with the participation of state special services of the civil aviation of the Russian Federation Ministry for Transport. The results were also prepared by the scientific, industrial organizations, experts of the civil and military departments of Israel and Ukraine, which examined the fragments of the plane, the technical documentation, audio records and other material, RIA Novosti stated.

According to the results of the commission, the flight of the plane Tu-154 from Tel Aviv, in the air space of Israel, Cyprus and Turkey was as scheduled until the emergency situation appeared. Like the commission believes, the tragedy of the plane took place because of the anti-aircraft missile that hit the passenger airliner.

There was comparative analysis performed of the striking samples of the battle part of the missile, which were found in the fragments of the plane and which did not refer to the construction of the airliner.

Rushaylo stressed, the state commission agreed with the conclusions and suggestions made in the report of the technical commission. The commission sent all materials to the Ukrainian special inter-departmental commission, which was set up pursuant to President’s order. Russia asked the Ukrainian colleagues to inform on the results of the work done, Rushaylo stressed.

Ukraine’s Secretary of the Council for National Security and Defense, Yevgeny Marchuk agreed with the conclusions made by the Russian technical commission. He stated to journalists: “On the ground of the conclusions, made by the specialists of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, who took part in the work of the Russian state commission, according to expertise, conclusions of the Inter-State aviation committee, we make a preliminary conclusion that the reason of the tragedy was S-200 missile that unpremeditatedly hit the plane during the military exercise of the Ukrainian anti-missile defense complex.”

Marchuk stressed, that tragic accident “could appear as a result of the anti-aircraft complex system failure.” In his words, the final conclusions “will be made after a complex of probes both in Russia and Ukraine.”

Reuters photo: Relatives of victims of the Sibir airlinesTupolev TU-154 plane crash react after they arrived at Adler airport from Israel, October 7, 2001