Two Jets Disappear in Russia
 

Just got this "breaking news" e-mail from CNN:

Two passenger jets flying over Russia disappeared from radar within minutes of each other late Tuesday. One was confirmed to have crashed, the second is still missing. Log on to CNN.com for more on this developing story.

Re: Two Jets Disappear in Russia
 

Saw it on Fox.

IMHO, almost certainly Chechens who did it.

TR

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe...ash/index.html

Russia: One jet down, one missing
Tuesday, August 24, 2004 Posted: 7:28 PM EDT (2328 GMT)

(CNN) -- Two planes have disappeared from radar nearly simultaneously in separate incidents in Russia Tuesday night, and one was confirmed to have crashed, the Russian Emergency Ministry said.

A passenger jet carrying 34 passengers and eight crew members in the Tula region crashed about 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of Moscow, the ministry said.

Witnesses reported seeing the plane explode before it crashed, the Russian news agency Interfax reported.

A ministry spokeswoman said the wreckage was located ablaze and that no one survived.

Government-run news agency Ria Novosti reported that the plane's wreckage was in two separate locations.

The second plane, carrying 44 passengers and eight crew members, apparently went down about 160 kilometers (100 miles) from Rostov-on-Don, in southern Russia, Ria Novosti reported.

The spokeswoman said she could confirm only that the second plane had been lost to radar.

Ria Novosti said Russian President Vladimir Putin had been notified of the situation and had ordered security services to launch an immediate investigation.

The first plane disappeared from radar at 10:56 p.m. (2:56 p.m. ET), the news agency said.

The Tupolev-134 had taken off from Moscow's Domodedovo Airport and was en route to Volgograd, in southern Russia.

The spokeswoman said the wreckage was located ablaze and that no one survived.

The second plane, a Tupolev-154, disappeared from radar at 10:59 p.m. (2:59 p.m. ET) after having taken off from the same airport en route to Sochi, a tourist resort on the Black Sea in southern Russia, the ministry spokeswoman reported.

The Tupolev-154 is a standard medium-range airliner on domestic flights in Russia, according to aviation websites.

Second appears down in Rostov.

TR

Scale of 1 - 10, how do the Chechens compare to AQ?

It seems as if they pull of smaller operations, but with much greater frequency and with consistency in their "success" in furthering terror.

I suspect that AQ may have Chechen members. There are rumored to be Chechens in Iraq now.

By and large, they are much better trained and experienced in combat operations. They have also struck with WMD (radiological), mass casualties (Moscow theater), etc. in the heart of Russia itself.

If I were Russian, I would be more concerned with the Chechens than AQ.

TR

Thank you, TR.

I recall the Moscow Theatre attack very vividly.

Next questions - what will Putin's most effective reaction be? Anything significant going on with elections there in the near future?

Tass is also reporting that a bus exploded in Moscow Tuesday.

Sorry... did I kill the thread with curiousity?

If so, I offer my apologies, I just don't understand how these things can continue to happen anywhere, on any flight, in any region after 9-11?

Not sure if I lack common-sense or simply expect too much of those in positions who should be securing every flight regardless of delays, costs, vetting references, scanning baggage. What am I missing in the picture? How do the likes of AQ and the Chechens continue to pull these operations off?

AQ, Chechens, Al Sadr - all the same to me... evil and with no regard for human lives - often including their own.

(rhetorical frustration questions... just venting - what the heck is next?)

A bus caught fire in Moscow on Tuesday people sleeping in it at a road side pulloff, there was a small explosion at a bus stop in Moscow this morning (same day as aircraft crashes).

Just talked to the Press attache here at the Embassy in Moscow, latest thought on the aircraft crashes: Bad Fuel, fits some of the facts; IE two aircraft departing from the same airport within 40 minutes. Air travel is much safer here now than say 10 years ago when the expats refered to the Russian flag carrier as "AeroFLOP"

They are very concerned with the Chechens. Police here (Moscow) daily conduct document checks in and around the metro and train stations and on the streets. From my view 90% percent of those stopped are Caucasians ( not our interpretation of the word) those from the Caucasus Mountains ie Chechnya and southern regions who have a distinct appearance, darker skin tone.

I'm sure that AQ and Chechnyans have a certain cross over but of necessity the Chechnyans are more focused in their attacks ::Russian targets.

BTW the Chechnyan terrorist/separatist leader who claimed responsibility for the assassination of the last Chechnyan president has publicly stated that he will kill the next president as well.