Plane crashes at Moscow airport, no passengers

MOSCOW, Feb 13 (Reuters) A small business jet without passengers crashed at a Moscow airport while taking off in a snow storm today, Russian officials said.

Earlier, the Emergencies Ministry had said the crashed plane was an Airbus A310 trying to land at Moscow's Vnukovo airport on a flight from Berlin.

In a subsequent telephone call, the Emergencies Ministry said instead that a small business jet had crashed. It gave no explanation for the discrepancy.

The Transport Ministry confirmed that the crash involved a small executive jet.

''On take-off there was a flare-up in the area of the engine. The aircraft fell onto the runway and broke up,'' said Svetlana Kryshtanovskaya, an aide to Transport Minister Igor Levitin.

The Transport Ministry said that there were no passengers aboard the business jet, and that all crew members survived. There were conflicting reports about the size of the crew and whether any crew members were injured.

A spokeswoman for Vnukovo airport said: ''A Challenger 850 operated by a Swiss company caught fire on take-off. There were three crew on board with no passengers. The crew was not hurt.'' The plane was flying from Moscow to Berlin, she added. The Challenger 850 is a business jet made by Canada's Bombardier.

Vnukovo airport, which is used chiefly by budget airlines and charter carriers, was temporarily closed to traffic while the plane's wreckage was removed, Russian television reported.

Reuters SSC DB2115