Three dead after passenger plane crashes near Moscow

MOSCOW, July 12 (Reuters) - A Sukhoi Superjet passenger plane crashed in the Moscow region on Friday and three crew members were presumed killed, the Russian emergencies ministry said.

It said the plane had crashed in woodland near the city of Kolomna and there had been no casualties apart from those on board. The cause of the crash was not clear.

State-owned producer United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) said the plane had been on a test flight after repairs and belonged to Gazpromavia, an airline owned by gas giant Gazprom.

The plane was equipped with a SaM146 engine, according to Swiss aviation intelligence provider ch-aviation. The engines are made by a Franco-Russian joint venture.

Russian airlines have struggled to import spare parts for aircraft since Western sanctions were introduced in 2022. UAC is developing a fully import-substituted version of the Sukhoi Superjet, but its production has not yet begun.

The crash is the third of a Sukhoi Superjet since the regional passenger jet was introduced in 2008, Russia's first passenger plane developed since the Cold War. About 150 of the aircraft are currently in operation.