A SHOCKING new video shows the horrific moment a Russian passenger jet plunges from the sky – killing three pilots.
The plane smashes into the ground, sparking a huge fireball which sends thick plumes of black smoke shooting high into the air.
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Terrified villagers, who narrowly avoided the aircraft, captured the chilling footage at the crash site, near Kolomna – 65 miles southeast of Moscow.
More videos were taken of the aftermath and showed the smouldering plane wreckage surrounded by trees that were destroyed upon impact.
The jet was on a test flight after undergoing repairs, according to reports
The pilot issued a distress call and the aircraft circled to burn fuel ahead of an intended emergency landing.
He is believed to have diverted the aircraft away from built up areas and crashed in a forest.
The Russian-made jet was flying from its base at the Lukhovitsy Aviation Plant to Vnukovo Airport when it disappeared from radars around 3pm local time, The Moscow Times reports.
The reason for the crew’s mayday signal was not immediately disclosed but Mash media suggested that a “main version” for the crash was linked to “poor quality during repairs”.
Because of this “during the climb, the plane accelerated to a vertical 40 m/s [metres per second] when the norm was 12–15 m/s.”
This is the 131ft per second compared with a correct ascent of 39-to 40ft per second.
Such an acceleration could lead to a catastrophic failure of the aircraft – and cause major medical complications for the crew.
There appears to be a consensus that an emergency developed soon after takeoff from technical problems not pilot error.
One report said the Kremlin tasked the Russian security forces to “find out in detail” the cause of the troubling crash.
“What happened is a serious blow to the reputation of all Russian aviation.
“Now we need to quickly understand what’s going on and learn lessons for the future,” said an informed source.
One senior official Andrei Dobryakov said that the plane had embarked on its test flight “without permission”.
Another anonymous source told RIA Novosti that the aircraft burst into flames as soon as it crash-landed in the woods.
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No other casualties apart from the three pilots onboard have been reported.
It’s claimed the dead crew have been named as Yevgeniy Bulavko, 53, the captain, and Maxim Lukmanov, 44, co-pilot, and Vladislav Kharlamov, 53, flight attendant.
The cause of the crash is unknown.
Russian emergency services told TASS: “The plane belongs to Gazprom. It was undergoing scheduled maintenance.
“A test flight was conducted today. There was only a crew of three on board.”
A video posted on Telegram appears to show the aftermath of the crash.
Thick black smoke was seen billowing up in the sky from the reported crash site.
Superjets are widely used in Russia but have reportedly become vulnerable due to sanctions preventing the supply of Western parts.
President Putin is looking to expand use of a new Superjet based only on Russian-made parts.
But he doesn’t use the planes himself.
There have been numerous safety incidents throughout the Ukraine war where Western sanctions have been imposed.
Five years ago, 41 of 78 people were killed after a Sukhoi Superjet 100 was struck by lightning shortly after takeoff from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport.
Just 20 minutes into the two-and-a-half hour flight, an emergency radio failure was declared prompting the captain to request urgent clearance to return to land.
Pilot Denis Yevdokimov told Russian media the lightning had interrupted communication with air traffic controllers and forced him to switch to emergency mode.
The plane then circled around Moscow twice before it coming in to land, in what appeared to be a desperate attempt to burn fuel.
A dramatic video of the tragedy showed the plane making a terrifying bumpy landing, bursting into flames after bouncing along the tarmac.
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