Tu-204 plane makes tough landing in Vnukovo, four crewmembers killed
MOSCOW. Dec 29 (Interfax) - A Tu-204 owned by the airline Red Wings made a tough landing at the Moscow airport Vnukovo on Saturday evening. According to the most recent information, four people were killed in the crash. The plane was carrying a crew of eight people. One crewmember was not hurt in the crash.
The first information on the crash arrived around 4:40 p.m. The plane, which was en route from the Czech Republic, broke the airport wall, overshot the runway, disintegrated, and caught fire.
The cockpit came off from the plane fuselage and fell on the side of the Kyivskoe Shosse, an Interfax correspondent has reported. The fuselage remained beyond the airport wall.
When the plane hit the ground, its right wing caught fire, the Emergency Situations Ministry Department for Moscow reported. The fire was extinguished at 5:03 p.m.
Information on two crash victims arrived later. The Moscow healthcare department said the victims were wearing pilot uniform. In the meantime, an eyewitness told Rossiya 24 television that the victims were lying on the road in their chairs.
A source in the law enforcement agencies told Interfax flight captain Shmelyov and second pilot Ostashenko were among the victims.
The Moscow healthcare department later reported that the 27-year-old girl, who was hospitalized from the plane in Hospital 17, had died.
Another two people hurt in the crash were hospitalized in Moscow hospitals, the Moscow healthcare department reported.
The Interior Ministry later reported that the death toll from the crash had climbed to four.
The Emergency Situations Ministry's Main Department for Moscow reported that several flights en route to Vnukovo were re-directed to Domodedovo. The Emergency Situations Ministry reported that the Vnukovo airport had resumed operation at 6:30 p.m.
The Kyivskoe Shosse has partially re-opened to traffic (cars are currently moving on one lane).
A criminal case has been opened on the basis of the article of the Criminal Code dealing with flight safety violations, Vladimir Markin from the Investigations Committee told Interfax. Investigators are now working at the site, he said.
A source ion the air traffic control services told Interfax the crash have been caused by the pilots' error or technical problems with the plane.