A Russian passenger plane with 92 people aboard, including a famed military band on the way to Syria, crashed into the Black Sea on Sunday minutes after takeoff from the resort city of Sochi, the Defense ministry said, according to AP. The Tu-154 that belonged to the Defense Ministry was carrying the famous Alexandrov choir for a concert at the Russian air base in Syria, the ministry said. A total of 84 passengers and eight crew were on board the plane that dropped off radars minutes after taking off. Emergency services found its fragments about 1.5 kilometers (less than one mile) from shore at a depth of 50-70 meters (165-230 feet), the ministry said. There was no word of survivors. The Tu-154 is a Soviet-built three-engine airliner.
