According to their statement, the culprit of the accident arrived at the airfield for repair works. He was tasked with pumping the vehicle's landing gear, so he drove down the runway on the plane.
"For some reason, he [maintenance worker] then made an unauthorized take-off, without permission, and after a few kilometres made a hard landing. There was a woman in the cockpit with him, her identity is being established," the authorities stated.
A photo from the scene of the accident was shared on Twitter.
Earlier in the day, the regional office of the emergencies ministry reported that two people died during a hard landing of a light-engine aircraft near Almetyevsk in Tatarstan. Investigation into the causes of the incident is ongoing.