Civilian airliner crashes outside Moscow

A Russian civilian Sukhoi Superjet 100 has crashed outside Moscow, with no passengers listed on board
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A Sukhoi Superjet 100 has gone down in Moscow Region, with only three crew members listed on board, officials have said

A Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100 airliner has crashed outside of Moscow, local officials have said. There were three crew members reported on board.

Local authorities told TASS that the plane crashed on Friday afternoon in the Kolomna district, southeast of the Russian capital, and that emergency services had been dispatched to the scene. The plane, which typically seats 87 to 98 passengers, belonged to Russian gas giant Gazprom, was undergoing repairs and had taken off as part of a test flight, they added.

A crew of three was on board, officials said. 

The Russian Emergencies Ministry has confirmed the crash, adding that the plane fell in a forested area. “There were three crew members on the plane. According to preliminary information, they all died. There are no casualties among the population,” it said.

TASS reported that the Sukhoi Superjet 100 took off from Zhukovsky airfield for a fly-by. It said the aircraft had been produced in 2014 and delivered to Gazprom the next year, which has been its sole operator.

Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency said that the incident would be investigated by the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) operating under the jurisdiction the Commonwealth of Independent States, which includes several post-Soviet republics. Russian experts will also be involved, it added.

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