The management of Moscow’s Vnukovo airport said the airport’s head and his deputy tendered their letters of resignation on Thursday, following a fatal crash that killed the chief executive of Total.
They said in a statement on Thursday in Moscow that Vnukovo boss Andrei Dyakov and his deputy Sergei Solntsev stepped down after the accident.
They said the three staff members who were on duty at the time of the accident, which happened late Monday, were suspended.
Vnukovo airport is state-owned and also used by the Russian government for official flights.
Russian investigators said that four airport staff members responsible for operations had been detained.
They said among them was a trainee air traffic controller, who was on duty in the tower when the accident occurred.
They said Total Chief Executive Christophe de Margerie and three crew members were killed when their Falcon jet hit a snow plough during takeoff.
They said visibility was severely impaired by heavy fog at the time of the crash, but there was hardly any snow.
Vladimir Martynenko, the snow plough’s driver has said he must have entered the runway because he got lost.
The Investigative Committee said that the driver had a blood alcohol content of 0.06 per cent.
A Moscow court ordered that Martynenko be kept in pre-trial detention until Dec. 21.
Martynenko’s lawyer has said that his client was sober at the time of the accident
