Passenger Plane Crashes Near Moscow, Killing 71

A commercial Russian aircraft carrying 65 passengers and six crew has crashed near Moscow, Russia, killing everyone on board.

The flight, operated by regional carrier Saratov Airlines, on an Antonov An-148, departed from Domodedovo Airport in Moscow at 2:24 p.m. local time and was bound for Orsk, about 1000 miles away. Just four minutes after the departure, the flight’s signal disappeared from radar.

71 people are believed to have died after a passenger plane crashed outside Moscow. Officials have yet to confirm the cause of the crash. pic.twitter.com/rKrXZUjSII

— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) February 11, 2018

Flight tracking website tweeted that the flight descended from 6,200 feet to 3,200 feet in the minute before the signal was lost.

The speed and altitude graph for flight #6W703 show a descent from 6200 feet to 3200 feet during the last minute before the ADS-B signal was lost about 20 km south-east of Domodedovo Airport.https://t.co/PNoxBssRTf pic.twitter.com/ppf5rD9k7E

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) February 11, 2018

According to Russian News Agency Tass, Russian Minister of Transport Maxim Sokolov has said that local agencies will need to conduct genetic testing to identify at least some of the victims.

"As, judging by everything, no one has survived this crash, because of the quality of biomaterials genetic studies will be needed,” said Sokolov. “We will have to take biomaterials from the relatives.”

In a tweet, Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said it would require 150 people and 20 emergency vehicles to conduct recovery efforts.

pic.twitter.com/EPy83gEz9B

— (@MchsRussia) February 11, 2018

Tass is also reporting that a criminal case is being opened on charges of flight safety and aircraft operations violations.