One of Russia’s richest women – airline tycoon Natalia Fileva worth more than £500MILLION – is killed as her private jet crashes and explodes in Germany
Airline tycoon Natalia Fileva pictured the co owner of Russian carrier S7 was on board a six seater plane which crashed and exploded near Frankfurt today
One of Russia‘s richest women has died in a light aircraft crash in Germany.
Airline tycoon Natalia Fileva, 55, the co-owner of Russian carrier S7, was on board a six-seater plane which crashed and exploded near Frankfurt today.
German police said there appeared to be three people on board the plane, including the pilot of the flight, which originated in France.
Two more people are believed to have died in a collision with a police vehicle which was responding to the scene.
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Airline tycoon Natalia Fileva (pictured), the co-owner of Russian carrier S7, was on board a six-seater plane which crashed and exploded near Frankfurt today
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The burnt out debris of a small aircraft lies on a field near the small airport of Egelsbach near Frankfurt on Sunday
Business publication Forbes.ru estimated Ms Fileva’s fortune at $600million (£460million). ADVERTISING
Her airline confirmed that Ms Fileva was on board the single-engine, six-seater Epic-LT aircraft when it crashed.
According to state-owned publication Russia Beyond, she and her husband Vladislav Filev have owned the company since the 1990s.
She was said to be the head of S7’s board of directors, helping to make it Russia’s largest domestic airline and a competitor to flag carrier Aeroflot.
‘S7 Group team extends sincere and heartfelt condolences to Mrs. Fileva’s family and loved ones,’ the company said in a statement.
‘The memory of her as an inspiring and sympathetic leader and a wonderful person will forever stay in the hearts of all S7 Group employees. It is an irreparable loss. ‘
Based at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport, S7 is part of the Oneworld alliance and flies to 150 destinations in 35 countries.
Police said the six-seater airplane took off in France and was on its way to the central German town of Egelsbach.
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Emergency services work among burnt out debris of a small aircraft on a field near the small airport of Egelsbach following the crash in Germany on Sunday
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The remains of a police car which crashed into another vehicle near Frankfurt, on the way to the scene of a plane crash in which a Russian millionaire died
It crashed and burned in a field near Erzhausen, six miles south of Frankfurt, at around 3.30pm.
In a further tragedy, an emergency carrying two police officers was on the way to the crash scene when it collided with another car.
The second vehicle was carrying two young people who died in the crash while the police officers were seriously injured.
German officials said the cause of the plane crash was still unknown, saying the aircraft had completely burned out.
They said the two passengers were believed to be Russian citizens but that positive identification of the occupants would require further investigation.
