Sibir Tu-154 Crashed In October 2001

Upholding an earlier ruling that Russian investigators failed to prove a Ukranian missile was responsible for the October 2001 downing of a Sibir Airlines Tu-154, on Tuesday a Ukranian court ruled Russia's account of the incident doesn't tell the whole story.

The ruling came after four Israeli families have brought suit against the Russian government, seeking compensation for the accident. The airliner crashed in the Black Sea, while en route from Tel Aviv to Novosibirsk, killing all 78 persons onboard.

The Associated Press reports the Moscow-led Interstate Aviation Committee originally determined the plane was unintentionally shot down by a missile fired during Ukranian military exercises on the Crimean Peninsula. The appeals court rejected the families's appeal of the initial ruling, saying the agency's findings were unsupported.

The decision is expected to anger Moscow, which dominates the Aviation Committee made up of 12 ex-Soviet republics. The court did not consider what may have caused the accident, if a missile wasn't to blame.

An S-200 surface-to-air missile was fired minutes before the plane crashed... but it wasn't involved in the accident, according to a lawyer for the Ukranian government.

"It couldn't have been that missile," Andriy Kozlov said, adding the Committee's report on the incident contained errors and procedural violations.

Discrepancies regarding when the missile was allegedly fired were also noted, as were contradictions in when the aircraft broke apart -- in the air, or when it impacted the water.

"We don't know what brought the plane down," Kozlov said. "It was the job of the investigators and special services to find out what really exactly happened. Unfortunately, they failed."

Russia initially believed the Ukraine's denial the missile was involved, as investigators focused on the possibility of a terrorist attack. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin later determined the proof offered by the Ukraine was inadequate... and Ukrainian officials agreed, ultimately agreeing to pay families $200,000 for each victim.

FMI: www.mak.ru/english/english.html