RUSSIAN MILITARY TU-154 AIRCRAFT DISAPPEARS FROM RADAR AFTER TAKE-OFF IN SOCHI
>Russian air traffic controllers have lost contact with a Tu-154 airliner with 91 people on board, which disappeared from radar shortly after take-off in Sochi, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed in a statement.
>Ninety-one people were on board the aircraft, including 83 passengers and eight crew members, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
>The plane took off from Sochi Adler Airport on a “planned flight” and failed to check in with the control tower at 5:40am Moscow time, the ministry said, adding that all rescue services in the region have been deployed to search for the missing plane.
>"According to preliminary data, a Russian Defense Ministry Tu-154 disappeared from radar screens after departing from Sochi," a source in the country's Emergencies Ministry told RIA Novosti earlier.
>“According to preliminary data, the missing Tu-154 arrived in Sochi from Chkalovsky airfield near Moscow for refueling. It is likely that it crashed in the mountainous area of the Krasnodar region,” another source told RIA.
>Meanwhile, another source familiar with the matter told Interfax that the plane went off radar when the Tu-154 was maneuvering in Russian airspace over the Black Sea, shortly after take off.
>“The plane disappeared from radar approximately 20 minutes after takeoff,” another source told RIA, adding that the plane departed at 5:20am local time and failed to check in with the tower at 5:40am.
>The Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviation) told RIA Novosti that the flight was “not civilian”.
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https://www.rt.com/news/371623-russian-tu-154-disappears-radars/
Have we started the fire - on Christmas Eve?