Russia's
top investigative agency says four airport workers have been detained over the
runway crash that killed the chief of the French oil giant Total. Two
executives of Moscow's Vnukovo airport have resigned.
Deutsche Welle, 23 Oct 2014
Russia's
Investigative Committee said on Thursday those arrested included an air traffic
supervisor and a female trainee who was directing the takeoff of Christophe de
Margerie's small executive jet.
Its
collision with a snow plough also killed the three-member crew of the Falcon 50
plane (wreckage pictured on left) as it was leaving for Paris from Vnukovo, one
of three Moscow airports.
The agency,
which reports to President Vladimir Putin, said the head of runway cleaning and
head air traffic controller had also been detained.
"The
investigation suggests that these people did not respect the norms of flight
security and ground operations," said the agency in a statement.
A Moscow
court was to decide on Thursday whether to order the formal arrest of the snow
plough's driver, who was initially detained for 48 hours.
Vladimir
Martynenko was shown on Russian television telling investigators that he
strayed unawares onto the runway.
"When
I lost my bearings, I myself didn't notice when I drove on to the runway,"
he said.
Martynenko's
lawyer had previously denied a initial claim by investigators that the driver
had been intoxicated.
Vnukovo
airport announced the resignations of its general director and his deputy
"due to the tragic event." They were not detained by investigators,
however.
Total
announces replacements
At an
emergency meeting in Paris on Wednesday, the French oil giant appointed Thierry
Desmarest, a former chief executive and chairman at Total, to replace Margerie
as chairman of the group until late 2015.
It also
appointed Philippe Pouyanne as replacement chief executive.
De
Margerie, who had also held both posts -- CEO and board chairman -- had been an
outspoken critic of Western sanctions imposed on Russia over Ukraine.
Total
employs about 100,000 employees worldwide and posted revenues of nearly 190
billion euros ($240 billion) in 2013.
ipj/tj (AFP, Reuters, dpa)
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