When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. Sign up to receive our rundown of the day'sdirect to your inbox The plane burst into flames after making an emergency landing at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow. The ensuing tragedy caused the deaths of 41 people as the plane became engulfed in flames. Footage taken by a passenger in a window seat shows the plane’s wing being ravaged by fire as others onboard scrambled to escape. What REALLY happens when a plane is struck by lightning Although it has not been confirmed what caused the pilot to take an emergency landing, there have been reports that the Sukhoi Superjet 100 was struck by lightning. Speaking after the horrible event, flight attendant, Tatyana Kasatkina revealed that she was forced to kick passengers off the plane. She said: “People started getting out of their seats and making for the exit while the jet was still travelling at high speed. “They were phoning relatives, screaming that the plane was burning and falling. READ MORE: Russia plane crash: Passengers delay escape by grabbing SUITCASES<doc-sep>Pilot Denis Yevdokimov, quoted on the Russian Telegram channel Baza, said "the fire (came) after landing, I understand... because of the landing; that was probably the reason", and he noted that its fuel tanks were full.<doc-sep>Moscow -- A transcript of the communications between air traffic controllers and the pilots of a Russian airliner that made a deadly crash landing at a Moscow airport has appeared in the Russian media. The transcript shows the pilot, Denis Yevdokimov, declaring an emergency and requesting to turn back, but does not indicate he considered the situation aboard to be critical before making the landing that went disastrously awry, leaving the passenger jet engulfed in flames. It adds to the picture of the disaster that killed 41 people Sunday, as investigators are reportedly increasingly focused on pilot error as the primary cause of the crash. Russia's aviation authority confirmed Wednesday that the transcript, which was published by the Russian channel REN-TV, is authentic. The Aeroflot Sukhoi Superjet 100 took off with 78 people aboard for the northern city of Murmansk, but less than 30 minutes later ran into difficulty. In the transcript, the pilot issues a distress call to controllers at Sheremetyevo Airport, telling them the plane had been struck by lightning and lost radio communication. "Pan pan, pan pan, pan pan. Requesting return. 1492, lost radio contact and the plane is burning in lightning," the pilot told controllers, using an emergency signal. Despite using the word "burning," it does not appear the plane was on fire yet, and the pilot's other communications suggest neither he nor the controllers believed the plane was in imminent danger. The "pan-pan" signal is used to indicate an urgent situation on-board, but one which does not pose an immediate threat to life or the aircraft. Communications were perhaps hampered because the two were speaking over an emergency system that only allowed short bursts of messages, according to Russian media reports. Asked by the controller what the emergency aboard was, the pilot said he lost radio and the plane's automatic flight controls. But asked if the plane would require help on landing, the pilot told the controller no and seemed to say he would be able to land as normal. Controller: "Will some kind of help be necessary?" Pilot: "No, for now everything is OK. Normal. Aeroflot 1492." Controller: "Only problems with [radio] communication, I've understood you right?" Pilot: "Communication and loss of the plane's automatic controls." Controller: "Understood." The two remained in contact, with the controller giving directions. The pilot said he would make a landing using the plane's Instrument Landing System (ILS), not a visual landing. Instead of touching down smoothly, though, the plane slammed into the ground too hard, buckling its landing gear and causing the fuselage to bounce up off the tarmac before slamming it down again, bursting its fuel tanks and setting off the fire. Russian investigators have publicly said they are considering various theories of the accident, including mistakes by the pilots and ground teams, bad weather or technical malfunction. But on Tuesday, the well-sourced newspaper Kommersant reported investigators' primary theory is that the pilots made a series of mistakes. According to the newspaper, which cited sources close to the investigation, investigators believe the pilots' first mistake was entering the bad weather. After that, investigators reportedly allege the pilots hurriedly sought to land immediately instead of first burning off fuel. As a result, the plane hit the runway with full fuel tanks and overweight, causing the bounce. Finally, they accuse the pilot of mishandling that, making the plane bounce again. Aviation experts have offered divided views over those claims. Some argue landing without burning off fuel is not unusual if the pilot felt there was a more urgent need to get on the ground. "The results were not due to the overweight landing, but how they pilots landed. The question is... why did this manifest into a crash? It should not," Karlene Petitt, an airliner pilot with a PhD on aviation safety from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University wrote in an email. She added that she suspected the failing was caused by poor training. It's also unclear why the Superjet, a modern airliner, was so affected by the lightning strike. Attention has also focused on Sheremetyevo Airport's emergency response and whether it was too slow. According to Russia's transport ministry, the airport's emergency system was not activated to alert fire crews until after the plane landed. The transcript shows that the controller contacted the airport's responders as the plane came into land. It appeared to show the controller was still informing the fire crews as the plane slammed into the runway and caught fire.<doc-sep>MOSCOW — Russian investigators looking into the fiery crash landing of an Aeroflot jet in Moscow, an accident that killed at least 40 people in full view of hundreds at the country’s main airport, were focusing Monday on pilot error, equipment failure and bad weather as possible causes. After the plane skidded to a stop on Sunday at Sheremetyevo International Airport, Russian news media reported that some passengers had insisted on grabbing their carry-on bags before leaving the burning wreckage — a violation of basic emergency protocol that would have slowed the evacuation. Videos posted online showed people walking away from the jet with luggage. As the scale of the disaster emerged, many Russians reacted with outrage at the initial, soothing reports on state media and in a statement from the airline that had suggested that all aboard had survived the jet fuel inferno. The Aeroflot flight took off from Moscow on Sunday evening bound for Murmansk, a port city in northern Russia. Pilots signaled distress soon after takeoff, the news agency Interfax reported, and the plane circled back for an emergency landing.<doc-sep>
A heroic flight attendant on the plane that burst into flames during a dramatic emergency landing in Moscow grabbed passengers “by the collar” and pushed them out of the aircraft to safety, according to a new report. Tatyana Kasatkina, 34, told the Sun on Monday that she kicked open the door to the Aeroflot jet and physically pushed lingering passengers — who were delayed as others grabbed their bags from the overhead compartments — out onto the emergency slide. “When the plane stopped, the evacuation immediately began,” she told the publication. “Everyone was shouting that we were on fire. But there was no fire inside the cabin at this moment.” “I kicked the door out with my leg and pushed out the passengers so as not to slow the evacuation,” Kasatkina added. “Just to hurry them up, I grabbed each of them by the collar from the back.” The evacuation was “all so quick,” she recalled. “The smoke was already black,” Kasatkina said. “The last people were crawling to get out.” “Everyone had jumped from their seats and moved forward, although the plane was still moving at a good speed,” she continued. “I saw the first woman calling somebody on her phone and saying, ‘We are on fire, we are falling down. '” At least two children were among the 41 dead in the Sunday crash and nine more were hospitalized, three with serious injuries, authorities said. Seventy-three passengers and five crew members were aboard the flight. The emergency evacuation was hampered by passengers who scrambled to retrieve their luggage from overhead compartments, according to the Evening Standard, which cited the Interfax news agency. Survivors praised the crew for their life-saving actions. “I thank God — and the stewardesses who saved me,” Dmitry Khlebnikov told the Sun. “They were always with us, helping people to climb the slide and get out of the cabin full of smoke … It was dark and incredibly hot inside.” Russia’s largest airline continued working Monday to determine the cause of the blaze — but passengers and the pilot said the aircraft was struck by lightning moments before the crash.