Two Russian Airliners Crash

From the Moscow Times comes this report:

Russian airliners, a Tu-134 and Tu-154, which took off from Moscow's Domodedovo airport, disappeared from radar screens almost simultaneously, at about 11 p.m. on Tuesday.

The Tu-134, owned by Volga-Aviaexpress carrier, flew out to Volgograd at 10:15 p.m. and the Tu-154, owned by Siberia Airlines, to Sochi at 9:35 p.m.

The Tu-134 disappeared from radar screens at 10:56 p.m.. The place where the plane crashed was later spotted near the village of Buchalki in the Tula region's Kimovsky district. The regional emergency situations authorities reported, citing witnesses' accounts, that the plane exploded before it crashed.

The tail of the plane and part of the fuselage were discovered at the scene of the crash. The search for other wreckage and flight recorders is underway.

The Tu-154 disappeared at 10:59 p.m. on Tuesday, when it was at a distance of 138 kilometers from the southern city of Rostov-on-Don. The regional authorities have already marked the approximate area where the plane might have crashed.

Controllers of the Southern Regional Civil Aviation Department told Interfax that this area is near the towns of Kamensk-Shakhtinsky and Millerovo in the vicinity of the Ukrainian border. The search operation involves rescue workers, border guards and Interior Ministry forces.

According to the Interstate Aviation Committee, the Tu-134 had 34 passengers and eight crew members. Exact number on board the Tu-154 is currently not known but believed to be about 44 total passengers and crew. Both wreckage sites have been located and 20 bodies have been found at the Tu-154 crash site.

President Putin has ordered an investigation by the Emergency Situations Ministry, the FSB, and other law enforcement agencies.

Of note is that airport security was tightened earlier in the day due to an explosion on a Moscow bus that injured three people.

With regard to reports by people on the ground that they heard an explosion in the air, authorities stated:

"It would have been impossible to see an explosion, since the plane was flying at an altitude of 10,000 meters, above the clouds. Perhaps witnesses heard a loud bang which always goes with any breakage."

The Russian Interior Ministry has instituted elevated security measures ". . . at transportation facilities, such as airports, sea and river ports, and railway stations," involving increased police and dog-sniffer patrols. Also, the highest level flight security measures were implemented at the Pulkovo 1 and Pulkovo 2 airports in St. Petersburg.

Jeff Quinton has much more on the situation and Michelle Malkin posts on the seemingly obvious terrorism angle. While maintaining that Russian airlines don't deserve the bad reputation they have for frequently crashing, the Russian Dilettante weighs in from Moscow and readily admits that two aircraft perishing on the same night is "naturally suspicious."

Latest update from about 2PM Moscow time - A total of 89 people were traveling on the two airplanes.

A Volga-Aviaexpress company Tu-134 airliner traveling from Moscow to Volgograd was carrying 43 people, including 35 passengers and 8 crew members.

A Siberia Airlines Tu-154 flying from Moscow to Sochi carried 46 people, including 38 passengers and 8 crew members.

Also, according to Federal Security Service spokesman Nikolai Zakharov, there is no evidence so far that terrorism is behind the crashes.

Of note is that terrorists frequently take credit for their malicious deeds by making an announcement. It hasn't happened as yet in these crashes.