After the unfortunate fire that led to the emergency landing of a Russian passenger plane, the pilot has come forward and said that lightning led to the emergency landing.
The passenger plane, on Sunday night, erupted in a ball of fire on the runway of Moscow’s busiest airport, killing 41 people.
Investigations were underway to understand the cause of the blaze after the Sukhoi Superjet-100 had to return to Sheremetyevo airport shortly after take-off.
However, a new dimension came about when pilot Denis Yevdokimov told Russian media that shortly after take-off, the aircraft lost communication and needed to switch to emergency control mode ‘because of lightning’ on the Aeroflot flight on its way to the city of Murmansk.
He did not specify if the plane was struck directly and said, “we managed to restore communication through the emergency frequency on our radio connection. But the link was only for a short time and kept cutting out… it was possible to say only a few words.”
Videos on social media showed the plane crash-landing and then speeding along the runway with flames pouring from its fuselage, even as passengers could be seen leaping onto an inflatable slide at the front and crying hysterically and running away from the burning craft.
Reports suggest that at least two children were among the 41 dead. Many others were seriously injured and undergoing treatment at the city hospitals.
A source in the Russian emergency services told news agencies that the aircraft’s black boxes have been found and handed over to investigators.
Several of the 78 people on board said they believed lightning was the cause of the tragedy.
Technical problems with the plane have been reported in recent years and Russia has struggled to convince foreign carriers to purchase it.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered his condolences to the victims’ families and said the investigation “should be as thorough as possible”, according to the Kremlin.
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev ordered a special committee to investigate the disaster.