Donetsk, Ukraine
A Russian passenger plane crashed in eastern Ukraine this week, killing all 170 people on board. Authorities were quick to rule out terrorism, but there were conflicting reports about what downed the Tupolev Tu-154. Ukrainian officials said the pilot reported a fire on board and tried to make an emergency landing, but that the landing gear didn’t function. Russian officials said bad weather was to blame. The plane was carrying vacationers returning to St. Petersburg from the Russian Black Sea resort of Anapa. This is the third airplane disaster for Russia this year. In July, an Airbus skidded off a runway in Siberia and caught fire, killing 124. In May, an A-320 crashed into the Black Sea in bad weather, killing 113.
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