An Airbus A320 with 113 people on board, operated by the Armenian airline Armavia, went down yesterday at about 2 a.m. local time in stormy weather over the Black Sea. The jet was making a second approach to its destination airport, a resort town on the Russian coast, when it vanished from radar screens about four miles out. No distress calls were sent by the crew. Recovery of debris and bodies began yesterday, despite continued stormy weather and high seas. Investigators said they have ruled out terrorism. The NTSB in March expressed concern over the safety of rudders on A300 series aircraft, but the A320s were not cited. The Airbus that crashed in New York in 2001, after the vertical stabilizer separated in flight, was an A300 model. Most of the fuselage from yesterday’s crash sank to the bottom of the Black Sea, about 1,300 feet down. A deep-sea robot will be used to recover the data and voice recorders.
113 Lost When A320 Goes Down In Black Sea
Key Takeaways:
- An Armavia Airbus A320 carrying 113 people crashed into the Black Sea in stormy weather during its second approach to a Russian airport, with no distress call sent.
- Recovery efforts are underway for debris and bodies, but most of the fuselage sank 1,300 feet, requiring a deep-sea robot to retrieve the flight recorders.
- Investigators have ruled out terrorism as a cause, noting that previous NTSB concerns about A300 series aircraft rudders did not specifically include the A320 model involved in this incident.
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