A Red Wings Airlines Tupolev Tu-204 airliner crashed in Moscow Saturday afternoon, killing four people and seriously injuring all four others onboard.
Red Wings Flight 9268, operated by aircraft RA-64047, was a ferry flight from Pardubice Airport in the Czech Republic to Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport. The plane reportedly touched down hard on its second attempt to land in heavy wind and snow. It over ran the runway, crashed through a perimeter fence, broke into three pieces and caught fire, with the forward part of the fuselage resting on a highway.
The cause was not immediately clear.
Russia’s Ministry for Emergency Situations said that the four dead consisted of the two pilots, the flight engineer and a flight attendant. Those rescued were all flight attendants, each of whom were described as having “severe” traumatic brain injuries.
VIDEO: Russia Today coverage of the crash
Vnukovo was closed until at least 6:00 pm local time. Inbound flights were either cancelled or diverted to Moscow’s two other airports, Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo.
The Russian-built Tupolev Tu-204, which bears a striking resemblance to the Boeing 757, can carry up to 210 passengers. While the design dates back to the late 1980s, the accident aircraft was only four years old at the time of the crash, delivered in 2008. Red Wings is the largest operator of the type with a fleet of 11, and has 44 additional Tu-204s on order.
