TU-154

At a time when when relations between the US and Russia are about as bad as they have ever been outside of the cold war, despite expectations for a detente under the Trump administration which have not taken place for obvious reasons, the mere thought of a Russian military plane flying above the continental US, let alone the Capitol, would prompt incredulous follow-up questions whether it had been shot down.

A Russian military plane carrying 92 people, including dozens of Red Army Choir singers, dancers and orchestra members, crashed into the Black Sea shortly after takeoff from Sochi on its way to Syria on Sunday, killing everyone on board, Russian authorities said. Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry said one of its TU-154 Tupolev planes had disappeared from radar screens at 0525 MSK (9.25 p.m. ET), two minutes after taking off from Sochi in southern Russia, where it had stopped to refuel from Moscow on route to Syria.