An empty Russian passenger plane has crashed near Moscow, killing its three-member crew.

MOSCOW (AFP) – A Russian passenger plane crashed near Moscow on Friday while flying without passengers, killing its three-member crew, officials said.

The Sukhoi Superjet 100 crashed in a forest near the village of Apraksino, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) southeast of the Russian capital, according to emergency officials.

The plane belonged to Gazprom Avia, a Russian state-owned airline. State-controlled natural gas giant Gazprom.

Gazprom Airlines said the plane had taken off from an aircraft manufacturing plant in Lukhovitsy, 110 kilometres (70 miles) southeast of the Russian capital, where it was undergoing repairs. The plane was bound for Moscow’s Vnukovo airport when it crashed eight minutes after takeoff.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known, but some Russian media reports suggested that the plane’s engines may have failed, possibly because birds entered them during takeoff.

The Investigation Committee, the country’s top criminal investigation agency, has launched an investigation into the incident.

The Russian-made Superjet 100, also known as the SSJ100, was hailed by Russian officials as a major achievement for the country’s civil aviation industry when it entered service in 2011, but its safety record has been patchy.

In May 2012, a Sukhoi Superjet 100 crashed into an extinct volcano during a test flight in Indonesia, killing all 45 people on board. An investigation found that the crew were unaware of the high ground and ignored signals from a terrain warning system while flying in dense clouds.

Another Superjet Crashed At Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport in May 2019, killing 41 people. It was struck by lightning and made an emergency landing shortly after takeoff. An investigation blamed the pilot, concluding that he landed the heavy plane with unburned fuel at excessive speed, causing a rough landing that led to a fire.

Since entering service, the aircraft has been plagued by malfunctions and high maintenance costs, making many Russian airlines reluctant to purchase it.

Russia’s ambitious attempts to market the aircraft widely abroad have largely failed, and the few foreign customers have retired the Superjet.