Posted: Wed May 03, 2006 3:53 pm Post subject: All dead in Armenia A320 crash.
A plane flying from Armenia's capital, Yerevan, to the southern Russian city of Sochi has crashed into the Black Sea, killing all 113 people on board.
Fifteen bodies have reportedly been recovered from the water so far.
The Airbus A-320 plane from Armenia's Armavia airline disappeared from radar screens about 0215 (2215GMT Tuesday).
An Armavia spokesman said bad weather caused the crash but a Russian emergency official said the aircraft may have had technical problems.
Terrorism has reportedly been ruled out as a cause.
According to a Russian emergency official, the aircraft "disappeared from radar screens as it was making another emergency landing attempt".
"It plunged into the sea at an angle of 60 degrees," Viktor Beltsov said.
"The plane was in an ideal technical condition, the crew was well qualified"
Andrei Aghajanov
Armavia official
Among those on board were eight crew and five children, he said.
A Russian air traffic control official, Alexander Neradko, told the Interfax news agency the aircraft had not sent any distress signals before it crashed.
Sochi is a popular Russian seaside resort, near the border with Georgia.
Unused jackets
Parts of the plane, engine fuel, human body parts, baggage and life jackets have been found in the water.
Rescuers said a large number of life jackets were unused, suggesting the crash happened too rapidly for passengers to put them on.
A number of rescue boats are at the scene, a few kilometres offshore, but their work is being hampered by heavy rain.
Fragments of the plane have been detected at a depth of 300 metres, 5km (three miles) from the coastline, Mr Beltsov said.
According to an official from Armavia, Andrei Aghajanov, the aircraft had initially been denied permission to land because of heavy rain.
However, he said, the airport then changed its mind and gave the go-ahead for the landing, the Reuters news agency reports.
"The plane was in an ideal technical condition, the crew was well qualified," Mr Aghajanov is quoted as saying.
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