MOSCOW, Dec 29: Four crewmembers were killed on Saturday when a Russian airliner crashed into a motorway and broke up into three pieces after overshooting the runway at an international Moscow airport.

The Red Wings airlines’ Russian-made Tu-204 jet — empty of passengers and carrying just its eight crew on a return trip from the Czech Republic — caught fire after crashing through the perimeter fence of Vnukovo airport in the west of the city.

The plane’s impact with the highway embankment sent the severed nose sliding over the icy road while the rest of the jet rested just past the airport’s fence — its tail linked to the rest of the body by only a tangle of wreckage.

Russian state television showed live footage of rescuers climbing into the wreck with search lights as night fell over Moscow with the plane still blocking traffic on the busy Kiev Highway.

“According to updated information, four people were killed and four more were injured,” the interior ministry said in a statement. A health ministry official said the four survivors were being treated for head injuries at various Moscow hospitals. The Interfax news agency said both pilots were among the dead.

It appeared that an even greater tragedy had been averted by the fact the plane was carrying just its crew on board.

Red Wings — which serves destinations in Russia and abroad as well as offering charter flights — is owned by Russian businessman Alexander Lebedev whose assets include the London Evening Standard and The Independent in Britain.

“Condolences to the families of those who died at Vnukovo,” Lebedev wrote on Twitter, vowing that all those affected would receive financial and other help. “The plane is new — (built in) 2008,” Lebedev said.

The tycoon had earlier decided to operate his airline relying exclusively on Tu-204 jets that were recently added to the Kremlin fleet.

Tu-204 is a modern offering from the Tupolev whose planes formed the backbone of Soviet civil aviation and whose older models are still in use to this day.

The plane was landing into a heavy snowstorm and swirling winds. But Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said investigators were studying all possible causes.

Several state media outlets speculated that something might be wrong with the brake system of the Tu-204 planes.

They cited a letter sent by the aviation watchdog Rosaviatsya to the jet’s Tupolev maker on Friday expressing concern over an incident last week in which the jet’s engines refused to fire into reverse on landing.—AFP