KANT Airbase, Kyrgyzstan. Oct 21 (Interfax-AVN) - Air Force Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Mikhailov said the crash of a TU-160 Blackjack strategic bomber in the Saratov region was caused by a technical malfunction.
Mikhailov told this to Interfax after arriving at the Russian airbase at Kyrgyzstan's Kant airfield on Tuesday.
The TU-160 crashed after take-off from the Engels military airfield in the Saratov region on September 18, killing all four crewmembers.
"The investigation into the cause of the TU-160 crash is nearly complete. Leading aviation experts have been involved in the probe," the commander said.
"The airplane's crew acted professionally and tried to avoid the crash until the last second, steering the TU-160 away from towns, villages and industrial facilities. The crew showed courage and heroism," Mikhailov said.
The TU-160's commander, Lieutenant Colonel Yury Deineka, will be awarded the Hero of Russia medal, and the other crewmembers - Major Oleg Fedunenko, Major Grigory Kolchin, and Major Sergey Sukhorukov - will receive Orders of Courage posthumously.