Russian passenger jet flying empty crashes in Moscow, 3 crew members killed

A Russian passenger jet crashed on Friday while flying without passengers, killing its crew of three, officials said.

The Sukhoi Superjet 100 went down in the Moscow region, according to Russian emergency officials.

The authorities said the plane belonged to Gazprom Avia, a carrier owned by the Russian state-controlled natural gas giant Gazprom.

They said the plane took off from an aircraft-making plant at Lukhovitsy 110 kilometers (68 miles) southeast of the Russian capital where it had undergone repairs. It was heading to Moscow's Vnukovo airport when it crashed.

The Investigative Committee, the country's top state criminal investigation agency, has launched a probe into the crash.

The Russian-made Superjet 100, also designated as SSJ100, was hailed by Russian officials as a major achievement for the country's civil aviation industry when it went into service in 2011 but it has had a patchy safety record.

In May 2012, a Sukhoi Superjet 100 slammed into a dormant volcano during