First pictures of Russian plane crash pilot who the Kremlin ‘blames’ for deadly air disaster as search teams pull Tu-154 fuselage from Black Sea
The Kremlin has claimed the downing of the aircraft was not terrorism and was likely caused by pilot error or technical issues
THESE are the first pictures to emerge of Roman Volkov, the pilot at the controls of a Russian military Tu-154 when it crashed into the Black Sea yesterday morning.
Even before the black boxes have been retrieved from the sea, the highly experienced airmen - one of 92 killed in the horror - is being blamed for an error that caused the crash.
The plane crashed into the freezing waters just minutes after departing Sochi airport during a refuelling stop in the early hours of Christmas Day.
CCTV also captured a bright flash over the sea during that time, triggering speculation it could have been the jet going down in flames.
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It was destined for Latakia, Syria and was transporting the Alexandrov Ensemble - a famed Russian military choir which was set to perform for troops currently bolstering the Syrian regime.
Volkov holds the rank "pilot first class" and is the son of Colonel Alexander Volkov, a distinguished military pilot. He graduated Balashov Higher Military Aviation School.
He and his wife Elena had three children and lived in Schelkov, Moscow region.
His friend, Anna Saranina said today: "Roman literally lived in the sky. There was no other interest for him. When we last met, he told me that lately he often flew Syria - a lot of flights.
"He did not say more - military secrets. He was not afraid to fly, no premonitions. He just did his duty."
Today independent air experts in Russia suspected terrorism as the cause of the loss of the Syria-bound flight - a theory which the Kremlin continues to deny.
Vladimir Putin's transport minister Maxim Sokolov said: "Today, as far as we know, the main versions do not include a terrorist act, so we proceed from the fact that the causes of this disaster could either be technical state or pilot error."
This theory appeared to gain support from the Kremlin which denied any evidence of terrorism bringing down the flight.
"There is none," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Pesnov said when asked if there was any evidence proving the terrorist attack version. "This version is far from being the main one," Peskov stressed.
He pointed out that "none of the versions have been proved so far," but added "all versions are under consideration" and it was too early to speak of any established cause.
Yet Russian authorities also comprehensively denied last year that the Sinai air crash - when an Airbus A321-231 bound from from Sharm El Sheikh International Airport, Egypt to Pulkovo Airport, St Petersburg disappeared from the sky - was a terrorist attack.
In this case, Russian officials refused to believe it was terrorism before British intelligence gave them key clues establishing a bomb was planted on the aircraft.
Meanwhile, divers and submersibles seeking the jet's flight recorders scoured a stretch of water roughly one mile from the southern Russian resort of Sochi.
Four small pieces of fuselage were recovered at a depth of 89ft, the RIA news agency said, but strong currents and deep water were complicating the search.
Major-General Igor Konashenkov, a Defence Ministry spokesman, said 11 bodies had been recovered. The ministry denied a RIA report that some of the dead passengers had been wearing life jackets.
He said the sea and air search operation, already involving around 3,500 people, was being expanded.
Putin designated Monday a nationwide day of mourning and flags flew at half-mast and TV stations removed entertainment shows from their schedules.
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev led a minute of silence at a government meeting, and mourners laid flowers at Sochi airport, from where the plane took off.
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