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Chief executive of Total killed in Moscow plane crash
Christophe de Margerie was only passenger aboard plane that hit snowplough on take-off
The chief executive of the French oil and gas giant Total was killed in a plane crash at Vnukovo Airport in Moscow on Monday.
Local sources told the Tass news agency that Christophe de Margerie, 63, was the only passenger aboard the Falcon 50 business jet, along with three crew.
The details were later confirmed by the airport.
Total SA CEO Christophe de Margerie Photo: REUTERS
The aircraft hit a snowplough as it took off shortly after midnight and crashed - killing all on board - as it attempted to return for an emergency landing. The snowplough driver also died.
At least 18 planes had been diverted earlier in the day due to bad weather.
"Tonight, a plane crashed when it collided with a snow-clearing machine. Three crew members and a passenger died. I can confirm that the passenger was Total's head de Margerie," Elena Krylova, an airport spokeswoman told Reuters.
The company later confirmed the death of its chief executive.
"The Total Group confirms with great and profound sadness that its CEO Christophe de Margerie died last night shortly after 10pm (Paris time) in an air crash at Vnukovo airport in Moscow following a collision with a snow removing machine," it said.
Mr De Margerie had attended a Russian government meeting on foreign investment in Gorki, near Moscow, on Monday. With his distinctive bushy moustache and outspoken manner, he was one of the most recognisable figures among the world's top oil executives. Inside the business he was nicknamed "Big Moustache".
A graduate of the Ecole Superieure de Commerce business school in Paris, he became chief executive officer of Total in February 2007, taking on the additional role of chairman in May 2010, after previously running its exploration and production division.
Mr De Margerie said in July that he should be judged on new projects launched under his watch, such as a string of African fields. He also said then that Total would seek a successor from within the company rather than an outsider.
A staunch defender of Russia and its energy policies amid the conflict in Ukraine, Mr de Margerie told Reuters in a July interview that Europe should stop thinking about cutting its dependence on Russian gas and focus instead on making those deliveries safer.