PARIS, October 21 (RIA Novosti) – The French authority responsible for safety probes into civil aviation incidents (BEA) is sending three experts to Moscow to take part in an inquiry into a plane crash that killed the chief executive of French energy giant Total, BEA said in a Tuesday press release.
"A team of three BEA investigators is getting ready to leave for Moscow today," the statement read.
BEA explained that according to international regulations, it would take part in an investigation, launched by Russian aviation safety authorities, representing the nation where the aircraft was constructed and registered.
French energy giant Total CEO Christophe de Margerie died late Monday night as his business jet crashed in the Vnukovo-3 Airport in Moscow after hitting a snowplow on takeoff. The plane was flying from Moscow to Paris with de Margerie as the only passenger on board besides three crew members, also French citizens.
Russia's Investigative Committee is considering four causes of the crash. It could have been the pilot's fault, the fault of air traffic control, the snowplow driver, or bad weather conditions. Russian investigators have confirmed that the driver of the snowplow was drunk. French authorities have launched manslaughter charges.
