Moscow - The operator of a snow-clearing machine with which Total CEO Christophe de Margerie's Falcon airplane collided at the Vnukovo airport is believed to have been drunk, Russian Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin told on Oct. 21.
“It has already been established that the operator of the snow-removal machine was under the influence of alcohol,” he said.
Four people died in the accident.
“Three crew members and a passenger – chairman of French company Total Christophe de Margerie – died as a result of the air crash,” Markin said.
Investigators believe that a Falcon-300 four-seat airplane on a Moscow-Paris flight collided with a snow-clearing machine during takeoff from Moscow’s Vnukovo-3 airport at around midnight on Monday, Markin said. The plane then caught fire and crashed on to the runway.
“An investigative group is currently examining the scene of the accident along with representatives of the IAC [Interstate Aviation Committee]. The plane’s technical documents are being impounded, fuel samples are being taken from the fuel servicing truck and Vnukovo airport staff are being interviewed as witnesses,” Markin said.
Air traffic controller errors and the actions of the snow-removal machine operator are being considered as the most likely causes of the air crash, he said.
“Apart from that, bad weather and pilot error theories will be analyzed as well,” he said.
Several airport officials may be suspended from their duties for the period of the investigation, he said.
The Moscow interregional transport investigative department of the Russian Investigative Committee has already opened a criminal inquiry on a count of “violations of aircraft operating requirements resulting in the death of two or more persons,” he added.
