Russian army plane crashes in sea

A Russian military plane with at least nine people on board has crashed in the country's Far East, officials say.

The Tu-142 anti-submarine aircraft went down in the Tatar Strait on a training flight shortly after 1100 GMT.

It is not known if there were survivors in the crash, about 15km (nine miles) off the coast, although one report said some human remains had been found.

The Tu-142 is a maritime reconnaissance aircraft which was widely used by the Soviet navy.

Russia's Pacific Fleet suspends flights of its naval planes

© RIA Novosti Vitaliy Ankov
11 people missing in Russian military plane crash
Russian military plane crashes in Far East

04:3307/11/2009
VLADIVOSTOK, November 7 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Pacific Fleet suspended on Saturday all flights of its naval aviation following the crash of a Tu-142 maritime reconnaissance plane in Russia's Far East, the fleet spokesman said.

A Tu-142M3 Bear-F plane reportedly went down during a combat training flight around 21:19 local time (11:19 GMT) on Friday some 20 kilometers (12 miles) offshore in the Tatar Strait, which separates mainland Russia from the island of Sakhalin.

"A special commission is investigating the causes of the crash of the plane, which had 11 people on board. The flights have been suspended until the investigation is complete. The search for the missing crew is still underway," the spokesman said.

According to preliminary data, the crash was caused by a technical failure.

The official confirmed that the remains of the plane were found on Saturday morning at the depth of about 44 meters (144 feet).

A Russian Defense Ministry source earlier said that the Navy would deploy, if necessary, the advanced Pantera and Kalmar robotic deep-water rescue vehicles to recover the plane's on-board recording devices.

Tu-142M3 is a Russian maritime reconnaissance/anti-submarine warfare (ASW) turboprop aircraft. It is a modified version of the Tu-95 Bear strategic bomber.

According to open sources, Russia's Pacific Fleet has at least eight Tu-142M3 aircraft in service.

SEOUL, South Korea – A badly damaged North Korean patrol ship retreated in flames Tuesday after a skirmish with a South Korean naval vessel along their disputed western coast, the first such clash in seven years, South Korean officials said.

The missile, with a range of almost 900 miles (1,500 kilometers), would be fired from mobile, land-based launchers and is “specifically designed to defeat U.S. carrier strike groups,” the Office of Naval Intelligence reported.

Five of the U.S. Navy’s 11 carriers are based in the Pacific and operate freely in international waters near China. Their mission includes defending Taiwan should China seek to exercise by force its claim to the island democracy, which it considers a breakaway province.

The missile could turn this region into a “no-go zone” for U.S. carriers, said Andrew Krepinevich, president of the Center for Strategic and Budget Assessments in Washington

"Correction of any one of nearly 30 tactical and watchstander errors, or adherence to standard procedures, could have prevented this collision," Adm. John C. Harvey Jr., commander of commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, wrote in endorsing the investigation's findings.

The submarine had five known "sleepers," or sailors who would routinely nod off on watch, but no disciplinary action was taken, the report states. Two of the five sailors were working during the collision, but investigators found no evidence they were asleep.

During the hour before the collision, investigators say, sonar operators in charge of monitoring nearby ships were chatting informally; the supervisor left his station; the navigator was taking an exam while listening to his iPod; and the officer in command did not check the periscope.

The lax behavior that day wasn't unusual, according to the report. The Hartford's command leadership routinely observed informal behavior by sailors operating the submarine, but did not immediately correct it, investigators found.

Those driving the ship would often slouch in their seats with one hand on the controls, and sometimes take their shoes off. Sonar operators and radiomen were missing from their stations for extended periods, and speakers were added to the radio room to listen to music during work.

"This appearance of a lack of standards, and of a general reticence to hold personnel accountable to standards, did not inspire either the questioning attitude or the forceful watch team backup" that could have helped avoid the collision, the report said.