The plane was fine -- until it plummeted straight down, nose perpendicular to the ground.

You know, like you see in cases of routine mechanical problems.

Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin's doomed private plane showed no signs of distress until a sudden drop 30 seconds before the deadly crash in Russia -- amid speculation that the rogue warlord's plane may have been downed by a bomb hidden in a crate of wine.

The Embraer Legacy 600 executive jet, with Prigozhin and other senior Wagner Group members listed among the 10 passengers, showed "no indication that there was anything wrong" earlier in the flight Wednesday, according to Ian Petchenik of the flight-tracking site Flightradar24.

It then made a "sudden downward vertical" at 5:19 p.m. local time -- and within about 30 seconds, plummeted more than 8,000 feet from its cruising altitude of 28,000 feet.

"Whatever happened, happened quickly," Petchenik said. "They may have been wrestling [with the aircraft] after whatever happened.

Video showed the plane plummeting with its nose pointing almost straight downward and a plume of smoke or vapor trailing behind it.

The Ebrarer jet type in question has had only one crash in 20 years.

One of the theories spreading on Russian social media sites is that a bomb had been planted onboard Prigozhin's plane, possibly concealed inside a crate of wine, reported the Telegram channel VChK-OGPU, which is linked to Russian security services.

"Supposedly someone testified that at the very last moment, a certain gift consisting of a crate of expensive wine was loaded unto the plane," wrote VChK-OGPU. "And now they are looking into claims that the crate may have contained a bomb."

The plane had been carefully searched with sniffer dogs before the wine crate had been loaded, added the Telegram channel.

The plane wasn't just carrying Ygevney Prigozhin. It was also carrying the other co-founder of the group and other high-ranking members of Wagner. Zero Hedge calls it "the entire top command."

The co-founder of the group, Dmitri Utkin, looks like he literally just walked out of the movie Die Hard 2: Die Harder.
It wasn't just mercenaries who were murdered. The pilots were also killed, as well as Kristian Raspopova, the stewardress:
Zero Hedge has more:
At this point it's looking like the entire top command of Russian mercenary outfit Wagner Group was aboard the private plane that was downed northwest of Moscow hours ago. Wagner itself is confirming Yvgeny Prigozhin's death, with Wagner-affiliated Telegram channel Grey Zone calling it a "murder".

"The murder/assassination of Prigozhin will have catastrophic consequences. The people who gave the order do not understand the mood in the army and morale at all. Let this be a lesson to all. You always have to go to the end," the Wagner channel statement reads.

True.

But the rumors are that Putin rounded up the family members of these guys and was threatening to torture and kill them unless they suspended the march on Moscow. I'm not sure what you do in that situation. It depends on whose lives you value more, yours or your family members.

The Finaincial Times reports rumors that the plane was taken down by an anti-aircraft missile.

Wagner fighters are claiming they'll march on Moscow again.
Purported members of the Russian Wagner mercenary group released chilling videos threatening revenge -- and a new "March of Justice" on Moscow -- after their leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, reportedly died in a fiery jet crash.

A Telegram channel associated with Prigozhin's private army released a short clip showing a trio of masked men dressed in camouflage and body armor making vague threats of retaliation.

"There are many discussions about what Wagner would do now," one of the supposed mercenaries says in the 8-second video. "We'll say one thing -- we're already starting off. Expect us."

...

"Today we saw how the little Kremlin filth wiped out Yevgeny Viktorovich," the masked fighter says in an altered voice, apparently referring to Russia's leader.

He then goes on to issue a sinister "order" to all Wagner units to retrieve their "buried" assault rifles, machine guns and grenades, presumably in preparation for an unspecified retaliatory act.

"All of us who have fought all these years are seeing that this devil has played long enough," the mercenary adds, again seemingly referencing Putin. "Await future orders, and victory will be ours. Glory to Russia!"

I'm afraid that ship has sailed, fellers. I'm not sure I can think of a case of an insurrection being reconstituted after its moment had passed.

You need to look to the Way of the Dagger and the Way of Poison now.

Killing Putin with polonium would be poetic justice.