MOSCOW, January 16. /TASS/. Specialists of the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) have joined investigation of the Russian defense ministry’s Tu-154 crash near the Black Sea city of Sochi, IAC said on Monday.

"In conformity with the cooperation agreement between the Interstate Aviation Committee and the flight safety service of the Russian armed forces, an IAC representative has joined the Russian defense ministry’s commission investigating the aviation accident with the Tu-154 plane that took place on December 25, 2016 near Sochi airport," IAC said.

Apart from that, investigation involves specialists of the IAC research center.

A Russian defense ministry Tu-154 bound for Syria crashed in the early morning on December 25 shortly after taking off from Sochi. There were 92 people on board the aircraft, including eight crew members and 84 passengers. Among them were journalists from Russia's Channel One, Zvezda and NTV networks, servicemen and musicians from the world-acclaimed Alexandrov ensemble, the official choir of the Russian armed forces, who set off to celebrate New Year’s Eve with Russia’s Aerospace Forces at the Hmeymim air base in Syria. The Executive Director of the Spravedlivaya Pomoshch (Russian for Fair Aid or Fair Help) charity fund Elizaveta Glinka, known to the Russian public as Dr. Liza, was also on board the flight.