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MOSCOW (AP) — Some fatal crashes involving the Soviet-built Tu-154 planes.
— Dec. 25, 2016: A Tu-154 operated by the Russian Defense Ministry en route to Syria crashes into the Black Sea minutes after takeoff from Sochi. All 92 people on board are believed dead and the cause of the crash isn't immediately known.
— April 10, 2010: A Polish presidential Tu-154 crashes in poor weather on approach to Smolensk airport in Russia, killing all 96 people on board, including Polish President Lech Kaczynski. Investigators blamed a pilot error in adverse weather, but Polish authorities have launched a new probe.
— July 15, 2009: A Tu-154 of Iran's Caspian Airlines flying from Iran to Armenia crashes when one of its engines disintegrates at high altitude, killing all 168 people aboard.
— Sept. 1, 2006: A Tu-154 jetliner operated by Iran's Airtour skids off the runway and catches fire while landing in the northern city of Mashad, Iran, killing 29 of 147 passengers. It was believed the crash was caused by a burst tire.
— Aug. 22, 2006: A Tu-154 of Russia's Pulkovo Airlines crashes in Ukraine, killing all 170 people aboard. The crash was blamed on an error by its pilot, who put the plane into a spin while trying to fly over a thunderstorm.
— Aug. 24, 2004: A Tu-154 operated by Russia's Sibir Airlines is brought down by a suicide bomber while flying from Moscow to Sochi, killing all 46 people aboard.
— July 1, 2002: Russia's Bashkirian Airlines Tu-154 flying to Barcelona, Spain, from Ufa, Russia, collides with a cargo plane over Germany, killing all 69 people aboard, including 52 children. Another plane's crew of two also was killed.
— Feb. 12, 2002: A Tu-154 operated by Iran's Airtour smashes into mountains near its destination of Khorramabad, killing all 119 people aboard.
— Oct. 4, 2001: Russia's Sibir Airlines Tu-154 flying from Tel Aviv, Israel, to Novosibirsk, Russia, is accidentally downed over the Black Sea by a Ukrainian missile fired during an air defense exercise, killing all 78 people aboard.
— July 3, 2001: A Tu-154 operated by Russia's Vladivostokavia en route from Yekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains to Vladivostok crashes while landing in the Siberian city of Irkutsk, killing all 145 on board. The crash is blamed on a pilot error.
— Feb. 24, 1999: A China Southwest Airlines Tu-154 flying from Chengdu crashes on approach to Wenzhou airport, killing all 61 people aboard. An elevator failure caused by faulty maintenance was believed to cause the plane to go into an uncontrollable dive.
— Aug. 29, 1998: A Cubana Tu-154 flight from Quito to Havana skids off the runway and catches fire, killing 79 people, including 10 on the ground when the plane plowed into a soccer field.
— Dec. 15, 1997: A Tajikistan Airlines Tu-154 crashes in the United Arab Emirates, killing 85 people. A pilot error was named as the reason.
— Aug. 29, 1996: Russia's Vnukovo Airlines Tu-154 carrying Russian and Ukrainian miners and their families from Moscow to Norway crashes into a mountain, killing all 141 on board. The crash was blamed on a pilot error.
— Dec. 7, 1995: A Tu-154 operated by Russia's Khabarovsk Airlines crashes in far eastern Russia, killing all 98 people on board. A pilot error is named as the reason.
— June 6, 1994: China's Northwest Airlines Tu-154 bound for Guangzhou crashes minutes after takeoff from Xian in northern China, killing all 160 people aboard. The crash is blamed on a pilot error.
— Jan. 3, 1994: Russia's Baikal Airlines Tu-154 suffers an engine fire on takeoff and crashes into a snowy field near the town of Irkutsk, killing all 125 people on board and a person on the ground. The crew had ignored a warning of an engine malfunction.
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