At the Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow, 41 people were killed in an airplane fire. The Aeroflot plane was on its way to the city of Murmansk before it had to make an emergency landing.
The fire of a Russian passenger plane at Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow killed 41 people. Among the dead are also two children, informed the state investigation committee.
Pictures showed the flaming machine of the company Aeroflot on the runway of the airport Sheremetyevo. More than 70 people were aboard the plane that was on its way to Murmansk in northern Russia.
The cause is unclear. It is being investigated in several directions, said Svetlana Petrenko from the State Investigative Committee of the agency Interfax. „Clear results on the causes and circumstances of the flight accident will be presented after all-inclusive investigations based on the investigation data,“ she said.
Technical problems?
The machine had landed about half an hour after launch, the pilot gave at least a signal that there are technical problems, as media reported. According to first findings, the radio contact also broke off.
As the machine crashed, according to initial findings, the investigator also burst the fully-filled fuel tank. Lightning spread the fire. The rear part of the machine was completely on fire.
Putin ordered enlightenment
The Sukhoi Superjet 100 is the first new development of Russian aircraft after the end of the Soviet Union, the short-haul aircraft is approved since 2011. The state-owned airline Aeroflot had announced the purchase of another 100 jets of the type only last fall.
Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin ordered a thorough reconnaissance. He and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev expressed their condolences to the relatives of the victims. They assured the survivors of help.
