LatviaCalling
20th Sep 2003, 03:10
Strategic bomber crashes, 4 killed
MOSCOW (AFP) - A supersonic Russian Tu-160 strategic bomber crashed Thursday in the southern Saratov region with four crew members aboard, said officials at the defence ministry.
The plane was conducting a test flight after having had a motor replaced and military officials told the Interfax news agency that it was not carrying any weapons.
"There was neither strategic nor ordinary weapons aboard," the news agency quoted military officials as saying.
"The Tu-160 recently had a new motor installed. The plane was doing a test flight with the new motor. Suddenly, it crashed to the ground," Interfax quoted a military official as saying.
"The crew reported that the motor was on fire at 10:30 (am), before the accident," a military spokesman told Interfax.
The plane crashed at 11 am local time (0700 GMT), officials said.
"All the crew members died as a result of the accident," the agency quoted a military spokesman as saying. "The pilots remains have been found."
The defence ministry has launched an investigation into the incident, officials told the Russian news agencies.
(The TU-160, likened to the B-1, apparently went into operation in 2000. It has a four crew complement and all four died. On the other hand it had separate exection seats for each. One of the engines, from Russian news media, had been on fire for about a half hour. Question is: Why did they wait so long to pop or opt out of the burning plane?)
If this has been posted somewhere else, I' sorry to double post, but I could not find any posting on it.
MOSCOW (AFP) - A supersonic Russian Tu-160 strategic bomber crashed Thursday in the southern Saratov region with four crew members aboard, said officials at the defence ministry.
The plane was conducting a test flight after having had a motor replaced and military officials told the Interfax news agency that it was not carrying any weapons.
"There was neither strategic nor ordinary weapons aboard," the news agency quoted military officials as saying.
"The Tu-160 recently had a new motor installed. The plane was doing a test flight with the new motor. Suddenly, it crashed to the ground," Interfax quoted a military official as saying.
"The crew reported that the motor was on fire at 10:30 (am), before the accident," a military spokesman told Interfax.
The plane crashed at 11 am local time (0700 GMT), officials said.
"All the crew members died as a result of the accident," the agency quoted a military spokesman as saying. "The pilots remains have been found."
The defence ministry has launched an investigation into the incident, officials told the Russian news agencies.
(The TU-160, likened to the B-1, apparently went into operation in 2000. It has a four crew complement and all four died. On the other hand it had separate exection seats for each. One of the engines, from Russian news media, had been on fire for about a half hour. Question is: Why did they wait so long to pop or opt out of the burning plane?)
If this has been posted somewhere else, I' sorry to double post, but I could not find any posting on it.