Putin orders investigation into deadly Aeroflot plane fire
(VOVWORLD) - Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has offered condolences to the families of victims of a fire aboard an Aeroflot passenger airplane and ordered an investigation into the incident which killed 41 people, TASS news agency reports.
Rescue team and ambulances work at the plane fire site at Sheremetyevo airport in Khimki, Moscow Oblast, Russia on May 5, 2019. (Photo: AFP/ VNA)
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Russian investigators said the aircraft, which was operating a flight to Murmansk, caught fire as it made an emergency landing at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport. Television footage showed the Sukhoi Superjet 100 bounce dramatically on tarmac at the airport before the rear part of the plane suddenly burst into flames.
The plane had been carrying 73 passengers and five crew members. Only 37 out of the 78 people on board survived.
Russia’s Investigative Committee said it is looking into whether the pilots had breached air safety regulations.