BUCHALKI, Russia, Aug 25 (AFP) - One of the passenger jets that crashed in southwest Russia broke in half in mid-air well before hitting the ground, local investigators told AFP here Wednesday.
Forward and rear portions of the fuselage were discovered on the ground some 400 meters (437 yards) apart with no sign of a debris trail around either piece, said the investigators, speaking on condition they not be named.
"Fragments from a crashed plane don't jump 400 meters," one of the investigators said. They also pointed to a clean rupture along the rear portion of the fuselage as confirmation of the mid-air split.
The investigators said bodies were scattered over a 500-meter radius from the main pieces of wreckage.
The officials said the fact that the plane came apart in the air suggested that the accident was caused either by an explosion, pilot error or a deficiency linked to aircraft structural fatigue.
Fragments of the wreck have been sent to Moscow for analysis to determine the cause of the crash.
AFP journalists on the scene of the wreckage reported that the body of the aircraft was not burned, while its tail had been slightly damaged by fire.
The plane that went down near Buchalki was carrying 43 passengers and was one of two airliners that crashed at almost exactly the same time overnight. The other was carrying 46 people and went down near the southern city of Rostov-on-Don.