The Investigative Committee said in a statement that crew error, mechanical problems and bad weather were being probed as possible causes for the Sunday’s plane crash at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport.
Russia's Investigative Committee says both flight recorders have been recovered from the plane. Citing Svetlana Peternko, a spokeswoman for the Investigative Committee, Russian media reports say investigators are looking into three main possibilities behind the cause of the disaster: insufficiently skilled pilots, air-traffic controllers, and technicians who examined the aircraft, as well as the possibility of a faulty plane, and bad weather.
Some Russian media reported the plane suffered a massive electrical failure after it was struck by lightning shortly after takeoff.
Recall, the Sukhoi Superjet SSJ100 operated by national airline Aeroflot caught fire and crashed at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport Sunday, killing 41 people.
The plane reportedly caught fire during a rough emergency landing after technical problems forced it to return to Sheremetyevo Airport.
The plane that crashed Sunday flew for the first time in June 2017, and was delivered to Aeroflot three months later, according to aircraft-tracking website Flightradar24.com.
Citing a source at the Russian aviation industry, Kommersant reports that this plane had a serious technical failure in January 2018 – flaps did not open when the plan was going to land. That time the flight was reportedly completed safely.
The Russian Transportation Ministry, however, said it sees no reason to ground Superjets after Sunday’s incident.
Meanwhile, some media outlets say the Sunday’s fatal air crash hit Russia's aerospace ambitions
The Sukhoi Superjet, which was developed as a competitor to regional jets from foreign manufacturers, has been criticized over frequent grounding due to technical faults and maintenance issues. Sunday’s is the second fatal incident involving a Superjet after a promotional flight crashed into a mountainside in Indonesia in 2012, killing everyone on board.
Russia reportedly produced only 26 Superjets last year because of problems with engine supplies.
