The Tupolev Tu-154 was carrying 84 passengers and eight crew members when it crashed Sunday.
The Tupolev Tu-154 was carrying 84 passengers and eight crew members when it crashed Sunday.

Story highlights

Terrorism not ruled out as possible cause of crash

19 bodies have been recovered so far

CNN  — 

Russian investigators have found no evidence of an explosion or fire on a military plane that crashed into the Black Sea on Sunday with 92 people on board, an air force official said Thursday.

Terrorism has not been ruled out as the cause of the crash, but it is not a primary line of investigation, the air force’s deputy head of flight safety, Sergey Bainetov, told the state-run TASS news agency.

The Defense Ministry has said there are probably no survivors.

Bainetov said the full investigation would take a month.

“The search operation continues as we need to recover more fragments to conclude the investigations,” he said.

Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said it has been established that “the plane almost completely fell apart after it hit the water surface and the sea shore, which has naturally complicated the search operation,” Russia’s Sputnik news reported.

More than 130 square kilometers of the sea have been examined. Teams have found 2,000 fragments of the plane, 19 bodies and 230 body parts, Sputnik reported.

- Source: CNN " data-fave-thumbnails="{"big": { "uri": "https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/161225021904-lost-russian-plane-matthew-chance-bpr-00013408.jpg?q=x_292,y_194,h_619,w_1100,c_crop/h_540,w_960" }, "small": { "uri": "https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/161225021904-lost-russian-plane-matthew-chance-bpr-00013408.jpg?q=x_292,y_194,h_619,w_1100,c_crop/h_540,w_960" } }" data-vr-video="false" data-show-html="" data-byline-html="
" data-timestamp-html="
Published 6:50 AM EST, Thu December 29, 2016
" data-check-event-based-preview="" data-is-vertical-video-embed="false" data-network-id="" data-publish-date="2016-12-25T07:22:35Z" data-video-section="world" data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2016/12/25/russian-plane-wreckage-ian-lee-bpr.cnn" data-branding-key="" data-video-slug="russian plane wreckage ian lee bpr" data-first-publish-slug="russian plane wreckage ian lee bpr" data-video-tags="black sea,eastern europe,europe,russia,accidents,accidents, disasters and safety,aircraft,aircraft accidents,aviation and aerospace industry,business and industry sectors,business, economy and trade,military,military aircraft" data-details="">
lost russian plane matthew chance bpr_00013408.jpg
Reports: Russian military plane wreckage found
00:58 - Source: CNN

The Tupolev Tu-154 was carrying 84 passengers and eight crew members when it crashed.

Both black boxes – the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder – have been recovered and are being studied.

On Tuesday, December 27, members of Russia's Emergency Ministry pack a flight recorder recovered from a Russian military plane that crashed Sunday into the Black Sea with 92 people aboard. Russia's transport minister said it was assumed the plane had crashed due to technical malfunction or pilot error -- not terrorism.
On Tuesday, December 27, members of Russia's Emergency Ministry pack a flight recorder recovered from a Russian military plane that crashed Sunday into the Black Sea with 92 people aboard. Russia's transport minister said it was assumed the plane had crashed due to technical malfunction or pilot error -- not terrorism.
Rossiya One TV Channel/AP
Emergency Ministry personnel prepare a submersible craft Tuesday to search for sunken wreckage and victims' remains. Thirteen bodies had been recovered from the Black Sea as of Tuesday morning.
Emergency Ministry personnel prepare a submersible craft Tuesday to search for sunken wreckage and victims' remains. Thirteen bodies had been recovered from the Black Sea as of Tuesday morning.
Rossiya One TV Channel/AP
A woman lights a candle Tuesday next to makeshift memorial in Sochi, Russia, for Russian activist Elizaveta Glinka, who was killed in the crash. Also presumed dead were nine journalists and more than 60 members of the Russian army's official choir, the Alexandrov Ensemble.
A woman lights a candle Tuesday next to makeshift memorial in Sochi, Russia, for Russian activist Elizaveta Glinka, who was killed in the crash. Also presumed dead were nine journalists and more than 60 members of the Russian army's official choir, the Alexandrov Ensemble.
VASILY MAXIMOV/AFP/Getty Images
Wreckage from the Tu-154 plane is hauled from the Black Sea late on Monday, December 26.
Wreckage from the Tu-154 plane is hauled from the Black Sea late on Monday, December 26.
Vladimir Velengurin/Emergency Situations Ministry Handout/AP
Emergency crews continue search operations on December 26.
Emergency crews continue search operations on December 26.
Viktor Klyushin/AP
People visit a makeshift memorial to victims of the crash at a pier in Sochi on December 26. Russia is observing a national day of mourning for the eight crew and 84 passengers aboard.
People visit a makeshift memorial to victims of the crash at a pier in Sochi on December 26. Russia is observing a national day of mourning for the eight crew and 84 passengers aboard.
VASILY MAXIMOV/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
A Russian police orchestra musician places a flower in tribute to members of the Alexandrov Ensemble outside their home stage building in Moscow on December 26. The popular ensemble was scheduled to perform for Russian pilots in Syria ahead of New Year's Day.
A Russian police orchestra musician places a flower in tribute to members of the Alexandrov Ensemble outside their home stage building in Moscow on December 26. The popular ensemble was scheduled to perform for Russian pilots in Syria ahead of New Year's Day.
NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP/Getty Images
People hold a candlelight vigil for victims of the crash on Sunday, December 25, in Sochi.
People hold a candlelight vigil for victims of the crash on Sunday, December 25, in Sochi.
Viktor Klyushin/AP
Russian emergency personnel work near the site of the crash on December 25. The plane was en route from Moscow to Syria and had stopped in Sochi to refuel.
Russian emergency personnel work near the site of the crash on December 25. The plane was en route from Moscow to Syria and had stopped in Sochi to refuel.
Viktor Klyushin/AP
Russian emergency workers carry remains from the wreckage of the Tu-154 plane that crashed near Sochi on December 25.
Russian emergency workers carry remains from the wreckage of the Tu-154 plane that crashed near Sochi on December 25.
Viktor Klyushin/AP
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Nursultan Nazarbayev, president of Kazakhstan, speak to members of the media in St. Petersburg, Russia, on December 25. Putin has ordered Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to lead an investigation of the crash, Russian news agency Sputnik reported.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Nursultan Nazarbayev, president of Kazakhstan, speak to members of the media in St. Petersburg, Russia, on December 25. Putin has ordered Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to lead an investigation of the crash, Russian news agency Sputnik reported.
Mikhail Klimentyev/TASS/Getty Images
Russian police secure the area near where the plane crashed. In addition to the ensemble, the plane was carrying eight crew, eight soldiers and nine journalists.
Russian police secure the area near where the plane crashed. In addition to the ensemble, the plane was carrying eight crew, eight soldiers and nine journalists.
Viktor Klyushin/AP
A man places a candle outside the building of the famed Alexandrov Ensemble, the Russian army's official dance and choir company, in Moscow.
A man places a candle outside the building of the famed Alexandrov Ensemble, the Russian army's official dance and choir company, in Moscow.
Pavel Golovkin/AP
A man places flowers outside the building of the Alexandrov Ensemble in Moscow on Sunday. Alexander Kibovsky, head of Moscow's culture department, called them "our cultural paratroopers."
A man places flowers outside the building of the Alexandrov Ensemble in Moscow on Sunday. Alexander Kibovsky, head of Moscow's culture department, called them "our cultural paratroopers."
ALEXANDER UTKIN/AFP/Getty Images
Flowers lay in front of a photo of the Alexandrov Ensemble at the group's building in Moscow. "These people always performed in war zones, they wore uniforms, they brought kindness and light," Kibovsky said.
Flowers lay in front of a photo of the Alexandrov Ensemble at the group's building in Moscow. "These people always performed in war zones, they wore uniforms, they brought kindness and light," Kibovsky said.
Pavel Golovkin/AP
Two women stand outside Alexandrov Hall, a rehearsal room of the Alexandrov Ensemble, in Moscow on Sunday. The ensemble, established in 1928, has toured the world performing Russian folk songs, World War II anthems and patriotic music.
Two women stand outside Alexandrov Hall, a rehearsal room of the Alexandrov Ensemble, in Moscow on Sunday. The ensemble, established in 1928, has toured the world performing Russian folk songs, World War II anthems and patriotic music.
Mikhail Japaridze/TASS/Getty Images
Photographs of Channel One, NTV and Zvezda TV journalists killed in the plane crash are seen outside the Ostankino Technical Center in Moscow.
Photographs of Channel One, NTV and Zvezda TV journalists killed in the plane crash are seen outside the Ostankino Technical Center in Moscow.
Artyom Geodakyan/TASS/Getty Images
A woman lights a candle at a memorial in Moscow.
A woman lights a candle at a memorial in Moscow.
Sergei Savostyanov/TASS/Getty Images
Russian military plane crashes near Sochi, Russia

Those on board included 64 musicians from the army’s official choir, the Alexandrov Ensemble; nine reporters; the head of the Spravedlivaya Pomoshch charity, Elizaveta Glinka; two federal civil servants; and eight crew members.

Read: The ‘Red Army’ choir loved by Russia

The choir was flying to Syria to perform for Russian air force pilots during the holiday season, the Defense Ministry has said.

Glinka was taking medicine and other supplies to a local hospital in Syria, her colleague and friend Dr. Sergey Kurkov told CNN affiliate RBC.

The plane had taken off from Moscow and was headed to the Russian Hmeymim air base in Latakia, Syria, where Russia has a large military presence. En route to Syria, the plane landed in Sochi to refuel.