Passengers 1 Injuries (non-fatal) 1 on the ground Date 20 October 2014 Survivor 0 Crew count 3 | Fatalities 4 Survivors 0 Number of deaths 4 Passenger count 1 | |
 | ||
Summary Incursion by ground vehicle resulting in collision during takeoff Site Vnukovo International Airport, Moscow, Russia Location Vnukovo International Airport Similar Red Wings Airlines Flight 9268, 2014 Santos Cessna C, 2014 Lao People's Liberatio, 2014 Algerian Air Force, 2014 Armenian Mil Mi‑24 | ||
On 20 October 2014 a Dassault Falcon 50 hit a snowplow whilst carrying Total oil company Chairman and CEO Christophe de Margerie on a flight back to Paris, France. All 4 people on the aircraft were killed during the incident, which took place at about 11 PM on October 20, 2014 on Vnukovo International Airport, Moscow.
Contents
The aeroplane
Dassault Falcon 50EX with tail number F-GLSA, serial number 348, first flight was performed in 2006. At the time of the incident it has been used for 7 years and 11 months. The airplane was in ownership of a private person and was operated by 'Unijet' company, which specializes in business aviation.
Crash
On 20 October 2014 at 23:57 MSK the aircraft hit a snowplow when taking off resulting the destruction of the aircraft, which burned, and death of all occupants. Reports indicate the driver of the snowplow, Vladimir Martynenko, was drunk. "At the current time, it has been established that the driver of the snowplow was in a state of alcoholic intoxication," Tatyana Morozova, an official with the Investigative Committee, Russia's main investigative agency.
Six people were eventually charged with a crime: airport aerodrome service lead engineer Vladimir Ledenev, snowplow driver Vladimir Martynenko, air traffic controller Aleksandr Kruglov, trainee controller Svetlana Krivsun and Vnukovo flight director Roman Dunayev. Martynenko, Ledenev and Krivsun were charged with violating the article 263.3 of the Criminal Code of Russia (violating safety rules of transportation and air travel, which led by neglect to death of two or more people). As of May 2016, although the investigation for the six accused has concluded, the trial date has not yet been set. The investigation is continuing on the matter of three more potential accused, Vnukovo Airport shift director Sergei Kosik, branch director of Moscow Air Traffic Control Center Vladimir Uzhakov and Uzhakov's deputy Aleksandr Povaliy. The final version of the indictment was issued on 18 January 2016.
In March 2016, 5 insurance companies (Berkshire Hathaway International Insurance, Tokio Marine Kiln, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group, Great Lakes Reinsurance and Mapfre) have sued the airport for 10 million euros to recover the payments made to their clients in connection with the incident.