Search Teams Find Data Recorder From Russian Military Crash, Officials Say

Early Tuesday morning, search crews located one of the flight recorders from the Russian military plane that crashed into the Black Sea on Sunday, according to Russian officials.

The flight data recorder, sometimes called a "black box," has been flown to Moscow for analysis, NPR's Lucian Kim reports. Officials do not currently consider terrorism to be a likely cause of the disaster.

Russia's defense ministry says that the flight recorder doesn't appear to have been seriously damaged, The Associated Press reports. One test pilot says the data could be recovered from the device within the day.

The recorder comes from the Tupolev 154 that crashed into the Black Sea shortly after taking off from Sochi on Sunday morning. The plane was bound for Syria.

There were 92 people on board — most of them members of a "world-famous military chorus," Lucian reports. A noted humanitarian doctor was also on the flight.

The cause of the disaster is under investigation.

"Authorities say terrorism is unlikely, and that the most likely causes of the crash are low-quality fuel, pilot error, technical failure or an object obstructing the engine," Lucian reports.

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