More than 40 Passengers Killed as Plane Catches Fire Near Moscow

More than half of the passengers on board a Russian passenger jet were killed in one of Russia’s busiest airport near Moscow, when the plane made an emergency landing on the runway successfully but burst into flames immediately killing more than 40 passengers on board.

Russia made Sukhoi Superjet was carrying 78 passengers as the incident took place on the runway of the Sheremetyevo airport followed by thick, black smoke pouring out from behind the plane forcing several passengers scrambled out of the burning hulk on emergency slides, some travelers were also carrying children.

The Russian Investigative Committee has confirmed that 41 people have died, including a crewmember. It was not immediately clear what caused the plane to make an emergency landing and catch fire. A criminal investigation has been launched.

The aircraft operated by Aeroflot, took off from Sheremetyevo airport for the northwestern city of Murmansk shortly after 6 pm local time but has to return minutes later because of a technical glitch. Aeroflot said that the plane was forced to return to the airport by a “technical reason” and its engines caught fire immediately after the aircraft touched the runway.

Passenger Dmitry Khlebushkin, who survived the fire, said at the airport “I survived thanks to the stewardesses”. He also added that the crew rushed immediately to evacuate passengers as flames engulfed the fuselage, otherwise there would have more causalities.

Aeroflot has 255 passenger aircraft either from Boeing or Airbus. Russian made Sukhoi jets make up one-fifth of the total fleet. Though, Sukhoi’s Superjet has been the greatest hope for growth for Russia’s dying commercial airplane making industry, but is struggling to attract foreign buyers.

Not only this, but Russia has also been struggling with poor air travel safety, as crashes are relatively common in the country. According to a record by the International Civil Aviation Organization, three hundred and twenty-six people have died in different accidents on Russian commercial flights between 2008 and 2017. On the other hand, only Sixty-one people have died on US flights during the same period.

Poorly trained crews and alcohol consumption by airport staffers are said to be the main reasons for the fatal accidents in the past. On the other hand standards and regulations are somewhat slipshod, while many new Russian airlines have gone bankrupt in the last decade.

Air crashes in Russia are not limited to commercial carriers only. In 2016, a Defense Ministry plane, which was heading towards Russian airbase in Syria, plunged into the Black Sea, killing all 92 passengers on board, most of the passengers were members of the Red Army.