Russian authorities have said the deadly fire onboard an Aeroflot passenger jet was probably caused by pilot error, a technical malfunction or “adverse weather conditions”, apparently referring to reports that lightning struck the plane after takeoff. Emergency workers said on Monday they had removed 41 bodies from the scorched tail section of the Russian-made Sukhoi Superjet 100, confirming Sunday’s fire at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport as Russia’s deadliest aviation accident in several years. The country’s transport minister has said there is no reason to ground the fleet of Sukhoi aircraft, which is the leading civilian passenger jet developed in Russia since the days of the Soviet Union. The jet makes up one-fifth of the fleet at Aeroflot, the national carrier. Regional carrier Yamal Airlines, the country’s second biggest operator of the Superjet after Aeroflot, said on Monday it was cancelling its planned purchase of 10 of the planes, but cited high servicing costs, not safety concerns. Two children were among the 41 killed on the plane, which was flying to the Arctic city of Murmansk when it released a distress call shortly after takeoff and turned back to Moscow. Fire engulfed the plane’s tail section during an emergency landing after the aircraft struck the runway several times, igniting its fuel reserves. Video taken from inside the plane showed panic as flames enveloped the right engine and wing and smoke began filling the cabin. Tatyana Kasatkina, a flight attendant who forcibly evacuated passengers, told the Russian news website Baza: “You could see the fire [outside]. People were yelling that we’re burning but there was no fire inside of the plane […] I pushed the door open with my leg and grabbed the passengers so that they didn’t delay during the evacuation. I grabbed them by the collar.” Some passengers were shown in footage of the evacuation carrying luggage, including large backpacks and rolling suitcases, that they had apparently retrieved from overhead cabins. The pictures raised questions in Russian media of whether the rush to retrieve hand luggage had put lives at risk by slowing the evacuation from the burning plane. Investigators have said they would review the behaviour of pilots and flight crew during the accident, but have not indicated that the evacuation was in any way mishandled. Crew members said it was hit by hail while flying through clouds near Sheremetyevo airport, before apparently being struck by lightning. “A bright flash and a clap,” the pilot Denis Yevdokimov said, describing the alleged lightning strike. The plane lost all communications and its electronic flight system failed, he said. Video of the landing showed the plane bouncing along the tarmac before bursting into flames. The tail section became consumed by fire, discharging thick, black smoke as passengers were evacuated using emergency slides. Fire engines sped towards the blaze as some passengers were seen fleeing across the tarmac in tears. Some were carrying luggage they had apparently retrieved from overhead cabins. The death toll was originally reported as one, but rose sharply as emergency workers painstakingly retrieved the dead from the smouldering wreckage. Reports have indicated most of those killed were in the tail section. A seating chart showed all but one of the passengers killed were seated behind row 10. It took firefighters more than an hour to reach passengers in the tail section. “There were 78 people including crew aboard the airliner,” said a government spokeswoman. The latest tally showed 37 had survived. Investigators study the charred wreckage of the Sukhoi Superjet 100. Photograph: HO/AFP/Getty Images According to the Flightradar24 tracking service, the plane circled twice over Moscow before making an emergency landing after just under 30 minutes in the air. The Interfax news agency cited a source as saying the plane succeeded in making an emergency landing on the second attempt and that some of the aircraft’s systems then failed. Aeroflot operates 50 Sukhoi Superjets in its fleet of 255 passenger aircraft. The carrier has ordered another 100, which are scheduled to be delivered between 2019 and 2026. There have been previous concerns over the plane’s reliability. In 2012 a Superjet crashed into a mountain in Indonesia during a sales demonstration flight, killing 37 people. In 2016, a reported 11 Sukhoi jets were grounded because of issues with the plane’s tail stabiliser. The model entered service in 2011 and was the first new passenger jet developed in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union. Russia’s investigative committee has opened a criminal inquiry into safety violations leading to the death of two or more people, a common step after mass casualty events in Russia. Officials have confirmed that at least 11 people were injured, including some hospitalised with burns. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, offered his condolences to the families of the victims.<doc-sep>The flight was Aeroflot SU1492 – plane registration number RA-89098. The flight was a daily service from Moscow to Murmansk. It was initially thought that the plane was already on fire when it landed. However, Russian news agency Interfax is reporting that the fire began after an extremely bumpy landing. The same report indicates that fuel tanks were full as crew made the decision that it was too dangerous to dump fuel over Moscow. According to the Aviation Herald, the majority of occupants were able to evacuate using both front door emergency slides. The flight crew made their evacuation using escape ropes through the cockpit windows. Emergency services rushed to the scene immediately. Many reports say that the initial cause of the emergency landing was lightning striking the plane. Speaking to Komsomolskaya Pravda daily newspaper, Petr Egorov said: “[the flight] had just taken off and the aircraft was hit by lightning…the landing was rough – I almost passed out from fear.” Andrey Chibis, Acting Governor of Murmansk, has reportedly said that families of victims will each receive one million rubles ($15,300). Victims being treated in hospital will receive 500,000 rubles ($7,650). Photos and video on social media Dramatic photos and video going up on twitter show black smoke rising from the flaming aircraft as ambulances arrive at the scene. The moment the flaming Aeroflot Superjet makes an emergency landing at Sheremetyevo. Reports that a lightning strike may have lit the engine on fire https://t.co/ySVAWQkycp pic.twitter.com/sLKBhW0JLf — Alec Luhn (@ASLuhn) May 5, 2019 Первые секунды после посадки горящего борта в Шереметьево. Люди, спасшиеся из самолёта, бегут по полосе pic.twitter.com/j3lcDnvtEF — baza (@bazabazon) May 5, 2019 Pilots declared an emergency shortly after taking off from Sheremetyevo but after 27 minutes in the air, made a return. Below is the flight path as recorded by FlightRadar24. After extinguishing the fire it was clear that the tail as well as most of the rear fuselage was completely on fire. This particular aircraft was relatively new, reportedly made in 2017 or 2018. A criminal investigation on this incident has begun and the black box has been given to the investigating agency. About the aircraft An Aeroflot Sukhoi Superjet at Moscow Sheremetyevo Photo: Wikimedia Commons The Sukhoi Superjet is a Russian-built aircraft that the manufacturer claims “offers standards of economy, performance, environmental efficiency and passenger comfort never before seen in a 100-seat airliner.” The aircraft’s entry into service was in mid-2011 while European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Type Certificate came in 2012. To date, 148 aircraft of this type have been delivered, according to Wikipedia. The manufacturer is officially goes by the name “Superjet International” and is a joint venture of Italy’s Leonardo Company and Russia’s Sukhoi Holding Company. Other accidents and incidents In the last ten years there have been a handful of accidents involving Aeroflot aircraft. In 2009, a Boeing 737 suffered severe damage by a hailstorm and was subsequently written-off. In 2014 an Ilyushin Il-96 had damage beyond repair while parked at Moscow Sheremetyevo International Airport. Most recently, on 3rd January 2017, an Airbus A321 overran the runway on landing at Khrabrovo Airport, causing the nose gear to collapse resulting in minor damage. In fact, today’s incident is the first Aeroflot flight suffering fatalities since a 2008 crash killed 88 passengers and 6 crew members. Several weeks ago an aircraft from another Russian airline UTair caught fire. However, in a very unexpected response, the airline claimed that fire coming from the engine of their 737 was a regular situation and that the plane was still “fully operational”. We originally posted this story at around 1800 GMT on May 5th and it was last updated on May 6th at 0628 GMT.<doc-sep>Just watching the disturbing video of the Russian plane disaster will send shudders through everyone who has ever been lined up on a plane, waiting for everyone ahead of them to collect their bags and file out of the aircraft. In this case, there is a very real possibility that the 41 people who died on board Flight SU1492 were trapped as those ahead of them grabbed large bags and other hand luggage before running out, as the videos show. There’s more evidence of a “people jam” in the single-aisled plane when you see those lucky passengers sliding down to safety. Survivors evacuate the Moscow plane crash carrying their luggage, casting doubt on the evacuation procedures used as 41 died. (Supplied) As flames eat into the rear of the aircraft, it is not a continual stream of people seen sliding down the emergency escape, but rather one person every few seconds emerging from the plane door. And all this was made worse because the two front slides were the only way out. The rear exit doors were burning so there was no chance of escape for the people at the back of the plane. Evacuees were seen leaving slides by the front door every few seconds - rather than continually - leading to speculation there was a 'people jam' in the aisle. (EPA/AAP) The aircraft, a Sukhoi Superjet owned by Aeroflot, took off from the airport north of Moscow with 78 people on board. It was in the air for just 26 minutes before, as passengers reported, it was hit by lightning. The plane turned back, but pilots abandoned the first landing and went around again. In this image taken by Riccardo Dalla Francesca, smoke rises from a fire on the plane at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport. (AP/AAP) As one video shows, there were no flames evident in the plane at this stage. It then makes a dangerously hard landing and relaunches to make a second even harder landing. "It has made a very hard land. It bounces back into the air and this is the moment when the plane hits the ground and the landing gear collapses,” CNN’s aviation expert Richard Quest explains. “The fuel in the tank erupts and that is what causes the fire. This plane was not on fire when it landed." The scene at Sheremetyevo airport after the crash. (AP/AAP) Inside, someone is shooting video and there is panic and screaming as passengers see flames enveloping their aircraft. A plane of this size should have been able to have been emptied of all passengers in 90 seconds. There is also the question why the plane land so hard in the first place? The Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft of Aeroflot Airlines covered in fire retardant foam after the blaze was extinguished. (AP/AAP) “This is going to be a really serious issue,” Mr Quest said. “The plane on second bounce almost lands on its nose. Was it coming in too fast because the pilot had lost control (because of the lightning strike)? Was he able to deploy the flaps to slow the aircraft down?” This is the second Russian-made Sukhoi Superjet to crash. In 2012, one came down in Indonesia killing all 45 people on board. Richard Quest also questions the absence of emergency vehicles early on in the video footage. “The plane was stopped, the fire is underway but no sign of the firefighters.” Considering that it was apparently known the plane was about to make an emergency landing many are already asking “Why weren’t they next to the plane fighting the fire the second it landed?” The plane’s manufacturer, Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, said the plane had received maintenance at the beginning of April.<doc-sep>(CNN) At least 41 people on board a Russian passenger jet were killed, including two children, after the aircraft crash-landed at a Moscow airport on Sunday, bursting into flames on impact. Aeroflot flight SU 1492 skidded down the runway at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, its rear section ablaze and spilling thick, black smoke. Once the plane had come to a halt, passengers escaped using emergency slides from the plane's two forward doors, before running away from the burning aircraft. Initial reports said the Superjet 100 was flying from Moscow to Murmansk, a Russian city in the Arctic circle, when an emergency on board forced it to turn back. Russia's Interfax news agency reported that a "loss of communication" caused by a "lightning strike" had led to the decision to return to Sheremetyevo. No official cause has yet been provided for the disaster. Data from flight tracker Flightradar24 shows the plane took off just after 6 p.m. local time (11 a.m. ET) and was in the air for just under 30 minutes, before making a loop in the skies north of Moscow and heading back to the airport. Shocking video of the incident showed the plane approach the runway at speed before hitting the ground, causing it to launch back in the air before hitting the runway again and bursting into flames. A total of 78 people were aboard the stricken flight, including five crew members. Thirty-seven people survived, five of whom are currently receiving treatment in hospital, said Elena Markovskaya, a spokeswoman for Russia's Investigative Committee, a top law-enforcement agency. An American citizen was killed in the crash, Interfax reported. A passenger in a plane waiting to depart Moscow posted video on Instagram purportedly showing fire crews attending the scene as the aircraft sat in flames on the runway. Russian airline Aeroflot published an "incomplete" list of 33 survivors, including the names of the five passengers hospitalized. In a series of short statements on its website, it said the aircraft was evacuated in 55 seconds, compared with the "industry norm" of 90 seconds. The flight crew "did everything in its power to save passenger lives and provide emergency assistance to those involved," another short release said. "Tragically, they were unable to save all of those aboard." The captain was the last to leave the burning aircraft, the airline added, and offered its condolences to the passengers and their families. It announced that it would fly relatives of those affected to Moscow without charge. Russian-made jet Sukhoi manufactures military aircraft and is known especially for its fighter jets. Its civilian aircraft, the Sukhoi Superjet 100, is the first post-Soviet commercial airliner to have been designed and built in Russia. The Superjet is a relatively new aircraft, making its maiden flight in 2008 before entering service in mid-2011. More than 100 planes are in operation around the world, according to the company. The narrow-bodied, dual-class cabin aircraft can transport 100 passengers over regional routes and is "a fusion of Russia's famed aviation design and production skills with the latest systems from leading aerospace suppliers around the world," the aircraft's brochure says. In 2012 a demonstration flight over Indonesia crashed in a remote, mountainous part of the country. Earlier that year, a Superjet 100 operated by Aeroflot was forced to abandon its flight to Astrakhan, Russia and return to Moscow because of problems with the undercarriage, according to RIA Novosti. A similar defect in another Aeroflot-operated Superjet 100 had to be fixed in Minsk the previous year. The model achieved the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Type Certificate in 2012, and also holds safety certificates from a number of other aviation authorities. Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry said Monday that it does not plan to suspend the operation of Sukhoi Superjet aircraft, state news agency TASS reported. Investigation ordered Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a "thorough investigation" into the fiery emergency landing, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS. "All instructions have been given to conduct the most thorough investigation, (to carry out) the necessary orders to find out the cause of this accident," said Peskov, according to TASS. He added that Putin "extends his deep condolences to those who lost their near and dear in this incident." The Investigative Committee said in a statement Monday that it was examining "various versions" that might have caused the crash landing, including the qualifications of the pilots, air-traffic controllers and maintenance personnel, aircraft malfunction and adverse weather conditions. The committee routinely conducts investigations into major incidents with loss of life.<doc-sep>
A Russian passenger jet burst into flames on Sunday while attempting an emergency landing at a Moscow airport, leaving as many as 41 passengers dead and more injured. Video from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport shows the plane bouncing along the tarmac before it suddenly burst into flames. The tail section of the Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100 became engulfed by fire, discharging thick, black smoke as crew members evacuated passengers using emergency slides. Fire engines sped toward the blaze while some passengers were seen fleeing across the tarmac in tears. Some were carrying luggage. The death toll, originally reported as 19, rose sharply as Russian emergency workers painstakingly retrieved the bodies of the dead from the smouldering wreckage. The plane’s destroyed fuselage. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images Early reports indicate that most of those killed were trapped in the tail section of the plane. Russia’s Investigative Committee said two of the victims were children. “There were 78 people including crew aboard the airliner,” said a government spokeswoman. The latest tally showed that 37 had survived. No official cause has been given for the disaster. The Investigative Committee said it had opened an inquiry and was looking into whether the pilots had breached air safety rules. The Sukhoi SSJ100. Photograph: Pavel Golovkin/AP Some passengers blamed bad weather and lightning. “We took off and then lightning struck the plane,” the Komsomolskaya Pravda daily cited one surviving passenger, Pyotr Egorov, as saying. “The plane turned back and there was a hard landing. We were so scared, we almost lost consciousness. The plane jumped down the landing strip like a grasshopper and then caught fire on the ground.” The plane was flying to Murmansk, a Russian city in the Arctic circle, when the pilots reported an emergency onboard and turned back. Aeroflot, the carrier managing the flight, said that the reason may have been an engine fire. While attempting to land, the plane struck the runway several times, damaging the fuel tanks and igniting the fire in the rear section of the fuselage. It took the firefighters battling the blaze more than an hour to reach passengers in the tail section. An image taken from video footage released by the Russian Investigative Committee. Photograph: EPA The Flightradar24 tracking service showed that the plane had circled twice over Moscow before making an emergency landing after just under 30 minutes in the air. Interfax cited a source as saying the plane had only succeeded making an emergency landing on the second attempt and that some of the aircraft’s systems had then failed. Aeroflot currently operates 50 Russia-made Sukhoi Superjets in its fleet of 255 passenger aircraft. The carrier has ordered another 100 Superjets from Sukhoi, which is slated to deliver the aircraft between 2019 and 2026. There have been concerns with the plane’s reliability before the incident. In 2012 a Sukhoi Superjet crashed into a mountain in Indonesia during a sales demonstration flight, killing 37 people. In 2016, a reported 11 Sukhoi jets had been grounded because of issues with the plane’s tail stabiliser. One of the plane’s engines. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images The Superjet entered service in 2011 and was the first new passenger jet developed in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union. It has been hit, however, by sporadic concerns over safety and reliability, including a December 2016 grounding after a defect was discovered in an aircraft’s tail section. Russia’s Investigative Committee has opened a criminal investigation into safety violations leading to the death of two or more people, a common step following mass casualty events in Russia. Officials have also confirmed that at least 11 people were injured, and some were hospitalised with burns. The Russian prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, and president, Vladimir Putin, issued condolences to the families of the victims.