Russian authorities say they have recovered the black box from the
Aeroflot jetliner that crashed in central Russia early Sunday, killing
88 people.
Officials are hoping the recorder will show why the Boeing 737 crashed
on approach to a runway in the Ural city of Perm. Television footage
showed debris scattered over a wide area near a residential section of
the city.
Officials say there was no immediate evidence of terrorism or sabotage.
A spokesman for Russian officials investigating the case said technical
failure most likely caused the crash.
Aeroflot is offering to compensate families of the dead up to 80-thousand dollars.
An airline spokeswoman, Irina Danenberg, said the passenger list shows
passengers of 21 nationalities on board, including those from the
United States, Switzerland, France, Germany, Turkey and Italy.
Authorities say one of the dead is believed to be Russian General
Gennady Troshev. The general spearheaded Russian efforts in the 1990s
to crush an Islamist separatist movement in the breakaway southern
republic of Chechnya.
International experts say Russia and its former Soviet republics have
some of the world's worst air traffic safety records. Analysts
attribute the poor performance records to weak government controls,
poor pilot training and cost-cutting efforts.
Last month, 65 people were killed in a Boeing 737 crash in Kyrgyzstan,
a central Asian country once part of the Soviet Union. The plane was
headed to Iran's capital, Tehran, when it crashed soon after taking off
from the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek.
The plane belonged to Itek Air, a Kyrgyz airline banned by the European
Union from operating in EU airspace because of safety concerns.