Jet crash in Russia kills all 88 on board
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MOSCOW - A plane carrying 88 people crashed in central Russia, killing all on board, an emergency official said today.
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There was no indication of a terrorist attack, she said.
The plane, operated by a division of Aeroflot, was on its approach to land in Perm when it crashed into an unpopulated area of the city, she said. A total of 82 passengers, including seven children, and six crewmembers were on board, she said.
There were no reports of damage or deaths on the ground and investigators were working to determine what caused the crash, she said.
Aeroflot spokeswoman Irina Danenberg said in televised comments that the plane was at an altitude of about 3,600 feet when it lost contact with ground dispatchers.
Perm is about 750 miles east of Moscow.
Perm emergency official Valery Tivunov said in televised comments that the plane fell onto train tracks just a few dozen yards from an apartment building.
Russia and the other former Soviet republics have some the world's worst air traffic safety records, according to the International Air Transport Association.
Aviation specialists have blamed weak government controls, poor pilot training, and a cost-cutting mentality among many carriers for affecting safety.
Today's crash was the second involving a Boeing 737 in the former Soviet Union in the past month. A Boeing airliner flying from the Central Asian nation of Kyrgystan to Iran crashed shortly after takeoff on Aug. 24, killing 56 people.
