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  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 a demonstration flight in Indonesia, killing all 45 aboard. The investigation revealed that the crew was unaware of high ground and ignored signals from the terrain warning system while flying in thick clouds.

Another Superjet crashed at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport in May 2019, killing 41. It was struck by lightning and made an emergency landing shortly after takeoff. The probe blamed the pilot, concluding that he landed the plane heavy with unburned fuel at excessive speed, resulting in a rough touchdown that sparked a fire.

Ever since the plane has entered service it also has been dogged by malfunctions and high maintenance costs that have made many Russian carriers reluctant to buy it.

Russia's ambitious attempts to widely market the plane abroad have largely failed, and the few foreign customers have phased Superjets out of service.