MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Tuesday, Russian Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov said that black box transcripts did not reveal any technical glitches that could have cause the crash of the ill-fated Il-76. He added that investigations are continuing and the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC, MAK), an airline safety watchdog, will make its results public.
So far, the investigation revealed that the aircraft was flying at its minimum permissible height in a mountainous area of Russia' Irkutsk Region, the Kommersant newspaper reported, citing a source close to the investigation.
The minimum height was chosen due to the forest fire destination being located in a valley, the newspaper added.
The plane went missing last Friday after failing to make scheduled contact with rescuers. All ten crew members died in the crash. The last of the bodies were pulled from the charred wreckage earlier in the day. The black boxes received thermal damage.
