According to the Operational Center of Siberia Airlines in Moscow, the bodies of the dead passengers and crew members which yesterday arrived from Rostov-on-Don accompanied by the relatives were flown from the Domodedovo airport. This work continued far into the night yesterday. All bodies have been transported with the exception of the remains of three passengers which their relatives will come to take on Sunday and Monday. Some of the bodies were taken to Moscow and towns near Moscow by land, and some of them were flown by regular flights to Barnaul, Irkutsk, Nizhny Novgorod and Novosibirsk.

Yesterday the body of pilot-in-command, Michail Guryev, was transported from Moscow to Kiev en route to Odessa. The body was accompanied by relatives and colleagues and will be buried in Kotovsk. Also yesterday, with the assistance of the Internal Ministry of the Ukraine the body of Sergey Sharov, a Ukranian citizen, was transported from Rostov-on-Don to Lugansk.
Today’s flight Moscow (Sheremetyevo) – Arkhangelsk at 6.15 p.m. will take the body of Irina Scherbovitch to her native town of Severodvinsk.

Siberia Airlines thanks its colleagues from Aerosvit Airlines for prompt assistance with the transportation of the dead bodies and victims’ relatives.

Siberia Airlines’ regular flight from Rostov-on-Don took 56 relatives of the passengers of Flight 1047 and four dead bodies to Moscow. The bodies of 21 more passengers are transported to Moscow on an An-12 cargo plane chartered by Siberia Airlines. Thus, all relatives of the dead passengers and all identified bodies have been flown from the site of the Tu-154 crash.
The bodies of 45 passengers and crew members have been identified. The remains of one person, presumably those of S. Dzhebirkhanova, have not been identified.

At 11 a.m. a farewell ceremony for the crew members of Flight 1047 took place near the administrative building of Siberia Airlines at the Domodedovo airport. Relatives, friends, colleagues of the dead and the company’s management took part in the ceremony.

According to the Operational Center in Rostov-on-Don, at 5a.m. a group of relatives with the dead bodies of five crash victims of Flight 1047 left Kamensk-Shakhtinsky for Sochi.

According to the Operational Center in Rostov-on-Don, 45 bodies and fragments of another body have been found at the crash site. 42 bodies have been identified, but the bodies of D. Menshikov, S. Dzhebirkhanova, A. Stepanova and M. Setdikov have not yet been identified.
The bodies of the Tu-154 crew members accompanied by their relatives will be transported to Moscow by today’s morning flight. It is expected that during the day a regular flight to Moscow and a special AN-12 flight will take the remains of 25 passengers accompanied by their relatives to Moscow.

At 4 p.m., in Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, Siberia Airlines started making payments for the organization of the funerals. The payments are made to close relatives of the dead passengers of Flight 1047, in the amount of 50 thousand rubles per passenger.

Siberia Airlines informs that, in accordance with the agreement reached with the charity Long-Range Aviation Support Foundation, a settlement account for charity contributions has been opened. This account is for charity contributions in connection with the crash of Tu-154 plane conducting Flight 1047 Moscow–Sochi.

Bank details for money transfers:

In the currency of Russian Federation:

Beneficiary: RO FOND PODDERZHKI DALNEY AVIATSII
INN 7704234520
KPP 770401001
Acc.: 40703810500000000010
Beneficiary’s Bank: Millennium Bank (CJSC), Moscow, Russia
BIK 044579555
Correspondent account: 30101810500000000555
Purpose of payment: charitable contribution for families of the victims of Flight 1047 air crash, August 24, 2004, vat-exempt.

In US dollars:

Beneficiary : RO FOND PODDERZHKI DALNEY AVIATSII
Acc.: 40703840700003000010
Beneficiary`s Bank: Millenium Bank, Russia, Moscow
Telex: 622877 KBMIL RU
ACC:104392410

INTERMEDIARY BANK:
OST-WEST HANDELSBANK AG, GERMANY, FRANKFURT AM MAIN,
SWIFT: OWHB DE FF

BENEF INFO: CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION

The foundation will be handling all operations on this settlement account, including accumulation of funds and their allocation to the relatives of the dead passengers and crew members.

The account has been opened after numerous appeals from organizations and individuals with offers of charitable contributions in connection with the tragic deaths of the passengers and crew of Flight 1047 Moscow–Sochi.

According to the information from the Operational Center in Rostov-on-Don, more than 100 relatives of the passengers and crew members of Flight 1047 have already been brought to the crash site near Kamensk-Shakhtinsky. These are the organized groups which arrived yesterday and today from Moscow, Barnaul and Sochi and relatives who arrived in Rostov-on-Don on their own. They all take part in the identification of the dead bodies. Ten more people are expected to arrive later today.

Representatives of Siberia Airlines, the Region and City Administrations are constantly working in the Operational Center in the airport of Rostov-on-Don.

The bodies of all crew members and three more passengers have been identified:

1. Menshikov Alexandr Dmitrievich
2. Sharov Sergey Viktorovich
3. Kamochkin Sergey

Siberia Airlines informs that mandatory passenger insurance payments in accordance with the Presidential Decree and insurance payments for flight personnel in accordance with the Air Code will be made irrespective of the causes of the crash.

The United Insurance Aviation Fund (AFES) open joint-stock company confirms its liability in connection with the Contract of Mandatory Personal Passenger Insurance and Contract of Insurance of Siberia Airlines Personnel against accidents and guarantees insurance payments to the relatives of the air crash victims (passengers and crew members) in accordance with the current legislation of the Russian Federation and provisions of the insurance contracts.

For all questions on insurance payments the relatives of the air crash victims can contact the following offices:

AFES Insurance Company Central Directorate:
20 Sadovaya-Triumfalnaya, building 2, Moscow 127006
tel.: +7 (095) 783-90-06
fax: +7 (095) 967-86-97

Southern office of AFES insurance company:
37 Gorky St., Sochi 354000
tel.: +7 (8622) 62-10-88, 62-50-28
fax: +7 (8622) 62-10-88

Siberian branch of AFES insurance company
38 Kamenskaya St., Novosibirsk 630099
tel. +7 (3832) 27-04-87
fax: +7 (3832) 27-04-87

Today Siberia Airlines was notified by the Ingosstrakh insurance company that the latter will be engaging the Beaumont and Son law company (London, UK) for settling the claims of the indemnitees and relatives of the passengers who died in the crash of Flight 1047.

Here are the names of the identified passengers and crew members.

Passengers:

Bogomolov Vasily Yurievich
Viazmin Alexandr Grigorievich
Duratchenko Ivan Ivanovich
Zviagintseva Larisa Anatolievna
Kiseleva Elena
Kuznetsov Sergey Nikolaevich
Kulikov Andrey Yurievich
Kurenda Sergey Vasilievich
Menshikov Andrey Anatolievich
Nadraga Alexandra Savelievna
ÍÀÄÐÀÃÀ ÂÀËÅÐÈÉ ÀÍÀÒÎËÜÅÂÈ×
Neretin Dmitry Mikhailovich
Oganesian Sarkis Andranikovich
Poliakov Vladimir Fedorovich
Stepanov Alexey Nikolaevich
Stepanov Pavel Vadimovich
Tarasov Stanislav Ivanovich
Todorochko Yuri Mikhailovich
Fetisova Ekaterina Yurievna
Finadeev Nikolay Viktorovich
Khlushkova Natalia Yurievna
Khlushkova Yulia

Crew:

Khudeeva Marina
Korol Stepan Alexandrovich
Ermolaev Andrey Vladimirovich
Bykovskaya Olga Sergeevna
Tarsukova Yana Gennadievna

Clarification: according to the Operational Center in Rostov-on-Don, 41 dead bodies have been found at the crash site. 22 bodies of the passengers and 5 bodies of the crew members have been identified.

Rosbiznesconsulting information agency reported (27.08.2004, 14:20:59) that Michail Fradkov requested the Ministry of Finance to prepare the resolution on one-time payments to the victims’ relatives of the two air crashes on August 24. The Head of the Russian Government made this request during his meeting with the Igor Levitin, Transport Minister.

According to the Operational Center in Rostov-on-Don, the dead bodies of all 46 passengers and crew members have been found at the crash site. 19 bodies have been identified.

Because of the recent publications in mass media, Siberia Airlines considers it important to inform the public that according to the rules of air ticket sales, valid on August 24, 2004, presenting a passport and entering the passport number into the booking documents and the ticket were required only for international flights. This was related to the necessity of confirming a visa by the passenger and was also required by the aviation authorities of a number of countries.

For the domestic flights, in order to buy an airplane ticket, only a passenger’s surname and initials were entered. A passenger’s ID is checked during the check-in and during the pre-flight inspection in the security control area of the airport. In addition to the sales of airplane tickets on the companies’ own ticket forms, tickets for most of the Russian airlines are sold on the neutral ticket forms of the Transport Clearing Company (TCC). According to the internal rules of the TCC, passport information is recorded in selling transportation services with the TCC cards for any flight. The share of the TCC tickets in Siberia Airlines in 2003 was 17% –18% (To compare, the share of the TCC tickets in Aeroflot in 2003 was 10-11%).

From now on, in accordance with the order issued by the aviation authorities of the Russian Federation as of August 26 (telegram 260647 of ÓÍÍÓÐÓÄÑ), presenting an ID will be an obligatory requirement in selling any air transportation services, with the passport information of all passengers entered into the corresponding part of the ticket. All the ticket sales for the Siberia Airlines’ flights are carried out both in the company’s ticket offices and in the ticket sales agencies in full conformity with the approved technology of booking and air transportation sales and are controlled by the company’s skilled specialists, while in selling the TCH ticket stocks there procedures are conducted and controlled by the TCÍ specialists. Strict fines are imposed for violating these technologies.

The list of the 1047 flight passengers has been updated, with their place of residence now indicated.

In examining the fragments of the Tu-154 aircraft, the traces of explosive were found. The preliminary testing showed it to be cyclonite, said Sergey Ignatchenko, the head of the public relations center of the Federal Security Service, to the Interfax information agency. The operative investigation discovered information, allowing identification of persons, who are likely to be related to the terrorist act on board Tu-154.

Today the relatives of the dead passengers of Flight 1047 – Flor Vasilyevitch Basyuk and Dmitry Nikolayevitch and Alexander Menshikov (father and son) – took Siberia Airlines’ flight S7 2252 from Norilsk to Moscow. Then they will be flown to Rostov-on-Don and taken to the crash site to take part in the identification of the dead bodies.

As reported earlier, Siberia Airlines provide a free flight of the killed passengers’ family members to the crash place. This work is conducted by the company’s Operational Center in the Domodedovo airport. Please call the hot line number 8 800 200 000 7 regarding flight organization or use the Operational Center’s special number: 8 095 363 05 99.

The Operational Center in Rostov-on-Don informs that the bodies of 11 passengers and 1 crew member of Flight 1047 have been identified.

Their names are: I.I. Durachenko, S. Kamochkin, A.S. Nadraga, V.A. Nadraga, V.F. Polyakov, N.V. Finadeev, N.Y. Khlushkova, Yulia Khlushkova and the steward Marina Khudeeva. The identified bodies of S.V. Kurenda, S.A. Oganesyan and Y.M. Todorochko have already been returned to the relatives.

The Operational Center in Rostov-on-Don reports that 92 relatives of the passengers of Flight 1047 who arrived at the place of the air crash, have registered at the Center. Ten more people are expected to arrive in Rostov-on-Don, besides, some of the relatives have left for the crash site on their own, without registering at the Center.

Due to many appeals from organizations and individuals with offers of charitable contributions for relatives of the air crash victims of Flight 1047 Moscow–Sochi, the air company has held preliminary talks about opening a settlement account in one of the charity foundations.

An independent and trustworthy foundation will be selected for opening a charity account and it will be conducting all operations on this settlement account.

If the information about opening a settlement account for charity contributions becomes available, it will be published immediately.

Siberia Airlines has decided to make payments for the organization of the funerals. The amount of 50 thousand rubles per passenger will be paid to close relatives of the passengers who died in the flight 1047 crash. The payments will be made locally, in Rostov-on-Don and Kamensk-Shakhtinsky.

Siberia Airlines informs that in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation on compulsory passenger insurance, the air company and the AFES insurance company have an ongoing agreement which provided insurance against accidents to all passengers of Flight 1047.

In the course of the talks, the AFES insurance company confirmed that it is prepared to start the fulfillment of its obligations under the insurance agreement, after all necessary procedures for effecting payment of insurance indemnity have been completed. The size and time of the payments will be determined in accordance with the provisions of the insurance agreement and the current legislation of the Russian Federation.

The TU-154 plane (RA-85556) conducting flight 1047 was also insured with the AFES insurance company.

Siberia Airlines informs that it has all required compacts related to insurance liability to third parties and the passengers of flight 1047.

The air company has an ongoing insurance contract of the air carrier’s civil liability to the passengers with the Ingosstrakh insurance company. In accordance with the agreement reached between the companies, they started the process of selection and appointment of the law company which will represent the air company and Ingosstrakh for settling outstanding issues with the relatives of the passengers who died in the crash.

At 4 p.m. Moscow time, the first group of relatives of the flight 1047 crash victims left for Kamensk-Shaktinsky from Rostov-on-Don. They will take part in the identification of the dead bodies found during the search operation at the crash site in the Rostov region. The group is accompanied by medical teams and psychologists provided by the Health Departments of the Region and City Administrations.

All organizational aspects of the visit of the passengers and crew members’ relatives to the site of the air crash are handled by the air company’s Operational Center located at the Domodedovo airport, Moscow, and a special Operational Center established in Rostov-on-Don.
For all questions on the organization of the visit please call the hotline at 8 800 200 000 7 or the special number in the Siberia Airlines Operational Center: 8 095 363 05 99.

Siberia Airlines has information that the bodies of three passengers of flight 1047 have already been identified at the crash site of TU-154 in the Rostov region where the search for dead bodies continues. The names of the identified passengers are: Sarkis Andranikovitch Oganesyan, Sergey Vasilyevitch Kurenda and Yuri Mikhailovitch Todorochko.

The Operational Center of Siberia Airlines established in the Domodedovo airport continues organizing the delivery of the family members of the passengers and the crew of flight 1047 to the place of the air crash. As recommended by the state investigating commission, the first trip of the family members is planned to take place on August 26 with the Moscow-Rostov flight, departing at 9:25 p.m.

The Operational Center is functioning in the conference hall of the Domodedovo airport on a round-the-clock basis. The Siberia Airlines representatives in the airport are also prepared to meet the victims’ family members and to settle all the issues relating to their departure to the place of the air crash. A special Operational Center to organize reception of the arriving people is established in Rostov-on-Don too.

When applying to go to the place of the air crash, the passengers’ relatives are to present their IDs and the documents certifying their relationship to the victims and, if possible, the photos for identification.

On all the issues relating trip organization, please call the hot line number 8 800 200 000 7 or the special number of the Siberia Airlines Operational Center: 8 095 363 05 99.

Siberia Airlines informs that, according to updates, among the flight 1047 passengers there was a foreign citizen. As reported by the head of the company’s office in Kiev, it was Ukrainian citizen Sergey Viktorovich Sharov.

Today, at 7 o’clock of local time in the morning, the first group of family members of the passengers from flight 1047 departed from the building of the Rostov city administration to the Rostov region. The group is traveling by a special bus and by individual cars. The column is accompanied by the patrol cars of the road police.

The column is expected to arrive in Rostov-on-Don at 6 p.m. of local time. The people will be met by the representatives of the recently formed headquarters, involved in the registration of the coming family members, their accommodation, provision of meals and medical and psychotherapeutic help. The headquarters’ work is supported by the regional and municipal administrations, as well as by the administration of the Rostov airport.

The corrected data have been received on the flight 1047 passenger list. At present, the information on the exact place of residence of the passengers is being refined. The additional data will be published as it comes.

Valentina Malysheva, mother of Yuri Baichkin, the Director of the Volga-Aviaexpress airlines, who headed the flight crew of TU-134 crashed on August 24 in Tula oblast, will leave Barnaul for Moscow together with the relatives of the Siberia Airlines cabin crew.

Valentina Fyodorovna is a resident of Ust-Kamenogorsk (Kazakhstan) and the day before had arrived in Barnaul where she was met by the representatives of Siberia Airlines Altai Branch. Her flight to Moscow was organized at the request of Volga-Aviaexpress airlines. On her arrival in Moscow, Valentina Malysheva will be met by the Siberia Airlines Operational Center representatives.

A group of relatives of the flight 1047 cabin crew from the Altai Branch of Siberia Airlines left Barnaul for Moscow today.

Up to the take-off they were accompanied by the representatives of Siberia Airlines, and Vladimir Finagin, the Director of its Altai Branch. The group of relatives was under the care of medical specialists of Siberia Airlines and Altai air company. In their flight they will also be accompanied by the physician of the Separate Air Squadron of Siberia Airlines in the city of Barnaul and the Deputy Head of the Separate Cabin Crew Group of Siberia Airlines Altai Branch. In addition, the relatives will be provided with the necessary psychological support and advice.

The crew of the S7 218 Barnaul–Moscow flight carried out by Il-86 plane with the relatives onboard flying to Moscow is headed by Vladimir Mishanov, the Director of the Aircraft Division #3 (Moscow) of Siberia Airlines.

Once the relatives of the Barnaul cabin crew have arrived in Moscow, their further transportation to the crash site will be a responsibility of the Siberia Airlines Operational Center representatives.

The Main Operational Center of Siberia Airlines at the Domodedovo airport is preparing for the arrival of the relatives of the crash victims to the crash site of TU-154. For all questions on the organization of the visit please call the hotline at 8 800 200 000 7 or the special number in the Operational Center of the air company: 8 095 363 05 99.

Information in «Crew» section is updated.

We have information from the crash site of TU-154 in the Rostov region.

By visual estimates of eye-witnesses who were at the crash site, large fragments of the aircraft are scattered in the distance of about 1,5 kilometers. The big scattering distance of large fragments is an indirect confirmation of the version according to which the plane was destroyed in the air as the result of an explosion.

We remind that during the night the air company received a telegram from the Main Center of the Russian Unified System of Air Traffic Control. The telegram informed about a hijacking alarm from one of the missing planes. Later it was confirmed that this hijacking alarm came from the TU-154 plane of Siberia Airlines. It happened just before the loss of contact with the aircraft and its disappearance from the radar screens.

The plane TU-154B-2 (RA-85556) was manufactured by the Kuibyshev aviation plant on September 27, 1982 with the production serial number of 82À556. This aircraft was one of the youngest in the TU-154B series and flew no more than 60% of its life time. The design life time of the aircraft of this series is 50 000 flying hours from the start of operation. This plane flew only 30 751 hours.

TU-154B-2 (RA-85556) underwent one major overhaul at civil aviation repair plant # 411 (Minvody). The overhaul was completed on August 25, 1993. The plane had a scheduled maintenance service on August 10, 2004.

The first, second and third engine units averaged 2000 working hours after the major overhaul (out of 6000 hours permitted) , and the auxiliary engine unit worked only 569 hours out of its life time of 1800 hours.

In order to coordinate the post-disaster activities of all subdivisions of the air company in connection with the crash of the TU-154 plane conducting Flight 1047, Moscow–Sochi, on August 24, the Main Operational Center was established at the Domodedovo airport. Operational units are also working in Novosibirsk and Rostov-on-Don.
Intensive efforts are being taken to make the passenger list of Flight 1047 more accurate and to determine the regions the passengers came from. Additional efforts are made to organize transportation of the relatives of the passengers and crew members to the crash site.

All incoming information is carefully analyzed and published on the air company’s web site in the running mode. It can also be clarified by calling the hotline phones and the press service of the air company.

Siberia Airlines informs about providing compensation to relatives of the passengers and crew members of Flight 1047 in connection with visiting the crash site of TU-154.

The following will be provided to the relatives of the passengers and crew members by and at the expense of Siberia Airlines, through the relevant structures of the air company:

1. hotel accommodation (maximum 2 people) for the period of forensic medical examination and transportation of the bodies to the place of burial;
   
2. food;
   
3. return flight (for the same number of people and within the same period as in 1);
   
4. forensic medical examination (under the contract with a medical institution);
   
5. transportation of the dead bodies to the place of burial.
   

Additional information about the passengers of Flight 1047 arrives from the regional branches and offices of the air company.

According to these data, the passengers Flor Basyuk, Alexander Menshikov and Dmitry Menshikov were residents of Norilsk; Pavel Vadimovitch Stepanov and Anastasia Radievna Stepanova were from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky; the passenger Sergey Vasilyevitch Kurenda was from the Murmashi community of the Murmansk region and was flying to his son in Sochi, the passenger Sarkis Andranikovitch Oganesyan, a native of Armenia, a citizen of Russia, resided in Sochi.

From all personnel of Siberia Airlines and myself let me express our most sincere condolences in connection with the crash of TU-134 of your air company.

A terrible disaster struck our companies and people. Today all of us, as never before, feel the pain of the grievous loss and perplexity in connection with what has happened. We do not yet know all causes and details of the tragedies, but at this time which is very hard for all of us, we must show courage and firmness. We must be worthy of our colleagues, those who perished but to the very end remained true to the sky and their calling.

The sky takes the best again, no matter how horrible this awareness may be. Cherished memory of all who died will forever remain in our hearts.

The Main Operational Center of Siberia Airlines at the Domodedovo airport is preparing for the arrival of the relatives of the crash victims to the crash site of TU-154. For all questions on the organization of the visit please call the hotline at 8 800 200 000 7 or the special number in the Operational Center of the air company: 8 095 363 05 99.

Information in «Crew» section is updated.

We have information from the crash site of TU-154 in the Rostov region.

By visual estimates of eye-witnesses who were at the crash site, large fragments of the aircraft are scattered in the distance of about 1,5 kilometers. The big scattering distance of large fragments is an indirect confirmation of the version according to which the plane was destroyed in the air as the result of an explosion.

We remind that during the night the air company received a telegram from the Main Center of the Russian Unified System of Air Traffic Control. The telegram informed about a hijacking alarm from one of the missing planes. Later it was confirmed that this hijacking alarm came from the TU-154 plane of Siberia Airlines. It happened just before the loss of contact with the aircraft and its disappearance from the radar screens.

The plane TU-154B-2 (RA-85556) was manufactured by the Kuibyshev aviation plant on September 27, 1982 with the production serial number of 82À556. This aircraft was one of the youngest in the TU-154B series and flew no more than 60% of its life time. The design life time of the aircraft of this series is 50 000 flying hours from the start of operation. This plane flew only 30 751 hours.

TU-154B-2 (RA-85556) underwent one major overhaul at civil aviation repair plant # 411 (Minvody). The overhaul was completed on August 25, 1993. The plane had a scheduled maintenance service on August 10, 2004.

The first, second and third engine units averaged 2000 working hours after the major overhaul (out of 6000 hours permitted) , and the auxiliary engine unit worked only 569 hours out of its life time of 1800 hours.

In order to coordinate the post-disaster activities of all subdivisions of the air company in connection with the crash of the TU-154 plane conducting Flight 1047, Moscow–Sochi, on August 24, the Main Operational Center was established at the Domodedovo airport. Operational units are also working in Novosibirsk and Rostov-on-Don.
Intensive efforts are being taken to make the passenger list of Flight 1047 more accurate and to determine the regions the passengers came from. Additional efforts are made to organize transportation of the relatives of the passengers and crew members to the crash site.

All incoming information is carefully analyzed and published on the air company’s web site in the running mode. It can also be clarified by calling the hotline phones and the press service of the air company.

Siberia Airlines informs about providing compensation to relatives of the passengers and crew members of Flight 1047 in connection with visiting the crash site of TU-154.

The following will be provided to the relatives of the passengers and crew members by and at the expense of Siberia Airlines, through the relevant structures of the air company:

1. hotel accommodation (maximum 2 people) for the period of forensic medical examination and transportation of the bodies to the place of burial;
   
2. food;
   
3. return flight (for the same number of people and within the same period as in 1);
   
4. forensic medical examination (under the contract with a medical institution);
   
5. transportation of the dead bodies to the place of burial.
   

Additional information about the passengers of Flight 1047 arrives from the regional branches and offices of the air company.

According to these data, the passengers Flor Basyuk, Alexander Menshikov and Dmitry Menshikov were residents of Norilsk; Pavel Vadimovitch Stepanov and Anastasia Radievna Stepanova were from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky; the passenger Sergey Vasilyevitch Kurenda was from the Murmashi community of the Murmansk region and was flying to his son in Sochi, the passenger Sarkis Andranikovitch Oganesyan, a native of Armenia, a citizen of Russia, resided in Sochi.

From all personnel of Siberia Airlines and myself let me express our most sincere condolences in connection with the crash of TU-134 of your air company.

A terrible disaster struck our companies and people. Today all of us, as never before, feel the pain of the grievous loss and perplexity in connection with what has happened. We do not yet know all causes and details of the tragedies, but at this time which is very hard for all of us, we must show courage and firmness. We must be worthy of our colleagues, those who perished but to the very end remained true to the sky and their calling.

The sky takes the best again, no matter how horrible this awareness may be. Cherished memory of all who died will forever remain in our hearts.

Siberia Airlines is deeply grieved to inform that the TU-154 plane conducting Flight S7 1047 Moscow-Sochi on August 24, 2004 crashed at about 11 p.m., Moscow time. According to the available information, all 38 passengers and 8 crew members onboard are dead.

The flight was conducted by an experienced crew from the Moscow aircraft division and was serviced by a team of air stewards from the Altai branch of the company. There are no grounds to doubt the high professionalism of those who piloted the plane. The pilot-in-command, 1st class pilot, Michail Guryev had flown almost 3.5 thousand hours. The other crew members also had a lot of experience, with air stewards averaging over 10 years of flying experience.

The plane was also in full operational readiness for the flight. The latest scheduled service was performed only two weeks ago. All safety measures during the flight, as well as on all flights of the air company, were taken in strict accordance with all prescribed air safety regulations.

Siberia Airlines will take all necessary measures to find out all details of the accident. But irrespective of the causes of the disaster, the lost people cannot be returned. We express our most sincere condolences to those who lost their near and dear ones - to their family members, friends and colleagues. We all share the pain of loss and are in mourning.