Three dead as passenger plane crashes outside Moscow during test flight

A passenger plane has crashed in the Moscow region killing all three crew members on board, Russian state news agency TASS reported on Friday.

A Sukhoi Superjet-100 crashed in the Kolomensky district of the Moscow region, which surrounds the Russian capital, during a test flight, TASS reported, saying that there had been three crew and no passengers on board.

The plane, operated by Gazpromavia, a Moscow-based airline that operates passenger and cargo charters for Russia’s oil and gas industry, was manufactured in 2014 and was solely operated by Gazprom, TASS reported citing “aviation services”.

The aircraft, which was flying from the Voronin Production Center outside Moscow to the capital’s Vnukovo Airport, reportedly crashed near the village of Apraksino, some 20 kilometres from where it took off.

The Superjet crashed just three hours after undergoing maintenance, Telegram news channel Baza reported, adding that the aircraft sent a distress signal and unsuccessfully attempted to circle around to burn off fuel before crashing to the ground.

The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency confirmed that the crash had taken place at around 3pm on Friday, and said that the crash would be investigated by agency specialists alongside those of the Interstate Aviation Committee, a Commonwealth of Independent States body set up to investigate air crashes.

Rescuers reached the crash site and began clearing debris on Friday evening, state-aligned news agency Interfax reported.

Alexander Grechishchev, mayor of Kolomna, the closest large city to the crash site, assured locals that there was “no threat to residents of the surrounding populated areas”.

A criminal investigation will be opened into the circumstances of the crash, a law enforcement representative told state-owned news agency RIA Novosti, as part of a case involving violations of aviation safety protocols. Police officers also visited the aircraft factory where the plane was undergoing repairs before the crash, the agency reported.