TUPOLEV TU-154 CRASH SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF WITH RUSSIAN ARMY CHOIRS

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Sunday a day of national mourning Monday, December 26 in Russia, in tribute to the victims of the crash of the military aircraft Tu-154 in the Black Sea.

"There are no signs of survivors." 92 people lost their lives on Sunday morning in the crash of a Russian military plane, among them 64 members of the Red Army Choir who were traveling to Syria to celebrate the New Year with the soldiers engaged in the country.

Immediately, the Russian president announced that an investigation would be opened to determine the causes of the accident. He instructed the Prime Minister, Dimitri Medvedev to create a special commission of inquiry. Its members are to travel during the day on Sunday to Sochi.

Bad reputation and many precedents.

Voices are heard to denounce the obsolescence of the Tupolev Tu-154, a model which has already experienced numerous accidents since its creation in the 1960s. According to the Minister of Defense, quoted by Russian agencies, the device had been flying since 33 years old and had already flown 6,689 hours. Repaired last December, the last revision of the plane dates back to last September.

Investigators are questioning the technical staff who were in charge of preparing the plane before takeoff on Sunday morning around 5:20 a.m. local time. "It's a plane that does not have a very good reputation, confirms Jean Serrat, aeronautical specialist. It was banned from flying two years ago by the Russian authorities for investigations and which had finally been put back into flight."