Eight killed in plane crash near Moscow
Eight people were killed when a Cessna business plane crashed and burst into flames near the Russia capital Moscow, probably due to bad weather.
The aircraft on a flight to Moscow from Voronezh crashed near the Staroye village, 10 kilometres northeast of the town of Stupino, a Moscow satellite township, last night.
Beside its two-member crew, a son of an influential member of Duma (lower house of parliament) was among those aboard the ill-fated aircraft.
"Violations of flight regulations" were named by as the probable cause of the crash according to the authorities.
Deputy Prosecutor General Nikolai Savchenko, said the plane was caught in a snow blizzard and the pilot had ignored weather report.
"The plane caught fire during the fall. The two crew and six passengers were killed when the plane hit the ground. Experts are working at the scene have recovered all eight bodies," Savchenko told NTV.