No sign of terror plot in Russian plane crash

Ministry of Emergency Situations employees search for bodies by a boat in the Black Sea, off Sochi, Russia, Monday, Dec. 26, 2016. All 84 passengers and eight crew members on the Russian military’s Tu-154 plane are believed to have died Sunday morning when it crashed two minutes after taking off from the southern Russian city of Sochi. (AP Photo/Viktor Klyushin)

MOSCOW – Russia’s intelligence agency FSB says it sees no signs of a possible terror plot in Sunday’s plane crash over the Black Sea.

All 92 people on the Russian military plane are believed to have died when it crashed two minutes after taking off from the southern city of Sochi. The passengers included dozens of singers in Russia’s world-famous military choir, nine Russian journalists and a Russian doctor known for her charity work in war zones.

The FSB said Monday in a statement quoted by Russian news agencies that it “has not found any signs or facts pointing to a possible terror attack or sabotage on board.”

The intelligence agency says it is focusing the probe on possibilities including pilot error, low quality of fuel, external objects getting in the engine or an unspecified technical fault.