A Russian passenger plane reportedly crashed over the Black Sea after refueling near Sochi en route to Syria for a Christmas celebration serving deployed troops (archived). Among the victims are Alexandrov Ensemble, the premier choir of the Russian armed services and humanitarian activist Elizaveta Glinka. Pieces of the Tu-154B-21 are being found ~1.5km out from the Black Sea coast at a depth of 50-70 meters. President Vladimir Putin has declared December 26th as a national day of mourning.
Registration number RA-85572 and entry to service in 1983 ↩