Updated 01:17 p.m. Moscow Time
MOSCOW, October 21 (RIA Novosti) - France has launched manslaughter charges in connection with the death of the chief executive of the country's oil giant Total in an air crash in Moscow involving a snowplow during takeoff, French news agencies reported Tuesday.
According to Direct Matin newspaper, the French Prosecutor’s Office launched the proceedings after the private jet of the head of French oil giant Total, Christophe de Margerie, collided with a snowplow in a Moscow airport, killing all four people on board the aircraft.
The Falcon 50 jet crashed late Monday night in the Vnukovo-3 Airport in Moscow after the plane hit a snowplow during takeoff. The aircraft was en route from Moscow to Paris with de Margerie as the only passenger on board besides three crew members, also French citizens.
Vnukovo Airport temporarily suspended all flights after the incident, but has since resumed operations.
A mistake by air traffic control, the actions of the snowplow driver, bad weather conditions and the possibility of pilot error have been named among possible causes of the accident. Russian investigators have confirmed that the driver of the snowplow was under the influence of alcohol.
De Margerie was born in 1951 and joined Total in 1974 after graduating from the Ecole Superieure de Commerce in Paris. He served in several positions in the Finance Department and the Exploration & Production division. In May 2006, he was appointed to the company's board of directors. He became chief executive of Total on February 14, 2007, serving as chairman of the company since May 2010.
