Russia jet carrying 71 people crashes after Moscow take-off
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Reuters
A Russian airliner has crashed after leaving Moscow's Domodedovo airport, killing all 65 passengers and six crew on board.
The Saratov Airlines jet vanished minutes after take-off and crashed near the village of Argunovo, about 80km (50 miles) south-east of Moscow.
The cause of crash is unclear. Investigators and emergency crews are working at the snow-covered site.
The Antonov An-148 was en route to the city of Orsk in the Ural mountains.
Flight-tracking site Flightradar24 said the aircraft was descending at the rate of 1,000m (3,300ft) per minute shortly after taking off early on Sunday afternoon.
Pieces of wreckage and bodies were found spread over a large area. One of the flight recorders has been recovered, officials say.
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Flighradar24
President Vladimir Putin has expressed his condolences to the victims' families and announced an inquiry into the cause of the crash.
Russia's gazeta.ru website quotes unnamed investigators as saying the pilot had reported a malfunction and requested clearance for an emergency landing.
All 65 passengers were from Orenburg, the Russian region to which the plane was flying, a spokesman for the regional governor told Interfax news agency.
This is the first commercial passenger jet crash for more than a year - 2017 was the safest year on record for air travel.
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Reuters
How good is Russia's flight safety record?
Russian airlines have suffered two major plane crashes in recent years:
- A Tu-154 military airliner crashed into the Black Sea with the loss of all 92 people aboard on 25 December 2016, with the disaster blamed on pilot error
- A Russian Airbus A321 carrying tourists crashed in Sinai, Egypt, with the loss of all 224 people aboard on 31 October 2015; the Islamic State group said it had placed a bomb aboard
What do we know about Saratov Airlines?
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Air Team Images
Saratov Airlines is based in Saratov, 840km south-east of Moscow.
In 2015 it was banned from operating international flights when surprise inspectors found someone other than the flight crew was in the cockpit.
The airline appealed against the ban and changed its policy before resuming international charter flights in 2016.
It flies mainly between Russian cities but also has destinations in Armenia and Georgia.
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