Flight recorder of Russia’s crashed plane found in Black Sea

One of the black boxes from the Russian plane which crashed into the Black Sea on Sunday with 92 people on board was found early Tuesday, a Russian security source said.

"One of the black boxes was found under the aircraft’s cabin during search operations," the unnamed source was quoted as saying by the official TASS news agency.

The Tu-154 plane’s box was found about 1.6 kilometers off the coast of the resort city of Sochi at a depth of 17 meters, the source said, adding that the box will be recovered soon and taken to Moscow.

It is believed that the location of a second black box has also been established and it could be recovered shortly, according to BBC.

All 92 people aboard – including many Red Army Choir musicians – the Russian military’s Tu-154 plane are believed to have died Sunday morning when it crashed two minutes after taking off from the southern Russian city of Sochi.

Following the crash, President Vladimir Putin declared Dec. 26 a national day of mourning. Putin told reporters in St. Petersburg that a commission led by Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov will investigate the incident.

"A thorough investigation will be conducted to determine the cause of the plane crash and every effort made to provide support to the families of the victims," said Putin.

Terrorism was likely not the cause of the crash, Sokolov told reporters Monday, pointing instead to technical malfunctions or pilot error.

The aircraft was heading to the Russian airbase in Syria to perform at a New Year’s concert when it disappeared from radar after taking off .

In addition to 64 members of the Red Army Choir, the victims included nine journalists, eight soldiers, two Defense Ministry officials, and one member of an NGO.