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Russian investigators have disclosed that the Epic LT aircraft which crashed killing S7 Group chief Nataliya Fileva was an 11-year old airframe operated by a company identified as Globus. The 31 March accident occurred at 16:40 local time at Egelsbach airport, which lies some 10km south-east of Frankfurt Main. Russia’s Interstate Aviation Committee says the aircraft crashed into a field and caught fire while attempting to land. “The aircraft is completely destroyed and burned,” it adds. None of the three occupants survived. Fleets Analyzer reveals that the same aircraft sustained major damage almost exactly four years ago, when it was involved in a landing accident at Moscow Domodedovo in March 2015 – reportedly with Fileva’s husband, S7 Group executive Vladislav Filev, on board. Manufacturer Epic Aircraft, based in Oregon, was sold in 2012 to Russian maintenance holding company Engineering – which is linked to S7 Group and recently rebranded under the S7 Technics name. S7 Group has a division called Globus which operates holiday charter services. It is unclear whether this company is directly linked to the operator of the Epic LT.<br/>

Aeroflot Group has signed an agreement with the government of the Krasnoyarsk region and Krasnoyarsk International Airport to create a local international hub. The project will start in 2020. The Russian flag carrier plans to base several aircraft types, including the Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100), at the Siberian city. The total number and types of aircraft will be announced later. “Due to the city’s convenient location, the airline will be able to offer flights between cities in the Urals, Siberia and the South, as well as to China and other parts of Asia,” the airline said. Aeroflot expects the Krasnoyarsk traffic will reach 1m passengers by 2023. “The hub’s business model guarantees convenient connections, which will enable us to attract transit passengers both on domestic and international routes. We are also planning to create a number of other regional bases in Russia,” Aeroflot deputy CEO Andrey Panov said.<br/>