MOSCOW, December 30 (RIA Novosti) – The bodies of all victims in Moscow’s Vnukovo air crash victims were identified, the Russian Investigative Committee reported on Sunday.
A Russian Tupolev Tu-204 medium-haul airliner overshot the runway while landing at Russia’s third busiest airport and caught fire on Saturday evening, killing four and injuring four other people.
Russia has set up an inter-governmental commission comprising the Federal Air Transport Agency and the Federal Transport Oversight Service to investigate the causes of the air disaster. Pilot error is currently being viewed as the probable cause.
“The bodies of all the victims have been identified by now. As soon as the state of the crewmembers injured in the air crash stabilizes, they will be interrogated. An additional inspection of the crash site is being conducted,” the Investigative Committee said.
The persons killed in the air disaster included the crew commander, the second pilot, a flight engineer and a stewardess, according to Russia’s Emergencies Ministry.
“A video material made by an air crash eye-witness will be attached to the investigation materials,” the Investigative Committee said.
Four persons injured in the air crash were hospitalized in a grave condition, with no improvements reported in their health so far.
The flight recorders from the Tu-204 wreckage have been found and delivered to the Inter-State Aviation Committee for study.
There were eight people on board the plane, all of whom were crewmembers, flying from the Czech Republic.
The plane belonged to Red Wings, a Moscow-based airline that operates 8-10 Tu-204 planes, each with capacity to carry up to 210 passengers.
The Moscow city transport prosecutor’s office has launched a criminal probe into the airline’s compliance with Russian aviation safety regulations.