OREANDA-NEWS. November 10, 2009. Round the clock search for the crew and pieces of the aircraft TU-142mz of the Naval Aviation of the Pacific Fleet is continued in the area of the crash of in the waters of the Tatar Strait.

In the vicinity of the crash of TU-142mz of the Naval Aviation of the Pacific Fleet in the waters of the Tatar Strait, despite the bad weather, the round the clock search continues for the crew and pieces of the aircraft, - said the Commander of the Pacific Fleet Vice-Admiral K. Sidenko.

Currently, the main search operations are conducted in the most probable area of the crash by the ships of the Pacific Fleet, civilian vessels and aircraft.

The search area is approached by the rescue vessel “Alagez”, carrying special deep-sea remotely operated vehicles "Tiger", "Obzor", manned submersible craft AS-30, as well as the latest search-and-range-finding complex "Kalmar", allowing to greatly increase the scale and efficiency of  underwater work to find both large and small fragments of the plane. The staff of the flagship of the rescue forces of the Pacific Fleet includes a team of highly trained divers, capable of carrying out the necessary work at depths up to 200 metres.

Particular attention will be paid to the search for flight data recorders (so-called "black boxes"). Statements about "the limited ability of these devices to store information in the salty sea water (within 36 hours) cited earlier are absolutely untrue. Detection and study of recorders of TU-142mz by specialists of the Defence Ministry of Russia will establish the true causes of this accident.

The area of search operation is attended by the commission of the Defence Ministry of Russia led by the Chief of the Aviation Safety Service of the Armed Forces Major-General S. Baynetov. To date, to make any "definitive" conclusions about the causes of the crash is prematurely.

On November 6 this year the TU-142mz executed a training flight in accordance with the plan of combat training. At the final stage of flight over the water area of the Tatar Strait, at 14.17, Moscow time, the crew was lost, and the mark of the plane disappeared from radar screens of land. 11 crew members were on board.