Total CEO Crash Update: Airport Executives Resign Following Deadly Plane Accident
Two individuals have resignations and four detained following the plane crash that killed oil giant Total SA CEO Christophe de Margerie Monday night in Moscow, Bloomberg reported.
The crash occurred on the runway of the Vnukovo International Airport, an airport often used by government officials including President Vladmir Putin himself, when the plane collided with a snow plow.
Russian officials said the driver of the snow plow, Vladimir Martynenko, was drunk at the time of the crash and has been sent to pretrial detention, CNN reported. Martynenko denies the drunk claim, but preliminary medical evidence proves otherwise.
A judge said the final results would be known in five to seven days.
De Margerie was killed along with three others on the plane, and the incident remains under investigation.
Two airport executives, director general Andrei Dyakov and deputy director general Sergei Solntsev, submitted their resignations Thursday. Both resignations were accepted.
The four detained by officials include the airport service chief engineer Vladimir Ledenev, who is in charge of snow-clearing operations; flights director Roman Dunayev; air traffic controller Svetlana Krivsun; and the airport's chief air traffic controller, Alexander Kruglov, CNN reported.
"Investigators believe the detained persons failed to provide safety requirements concerning flights and on-ground works and it led to the tragedy," a statement from investigators said, CNN reported.
Martynenko's attorney told CNN that the driver had passed a daily medical examination as required for all operators before duty, and the results were in a log book which is part of the evidence investigators have.
The French government sent three investigators and two technical consultants to investigate the crash.
The plane was leaving Monday at about midnight Moscow time, or after 10 p.m. Paris time, when the crash occurred.
De Margerie was one of the most recognized faces among top oil executives globally because of his signature large, bushy mustache.
Paris-based Total is France's largest company by sales, Bloomberg reported. Refining chief Patrick Pouyanne was appointed de Margerie's replacement Wednesday.
Subscribe to Latin Post!
Sign up for our free newsletter for the Latest coverage!
* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of latinpost.com