Russian passenger plane with 71 people onboard crashes outside Moscow

A plane operated by Russia`s Saratov Airlines which crashed in the Moscow region on Sunday had 65 passengers and six crew members onboard.

Moscow: A Russian passenger plane carrying 71 people crashed outside Moscow on Sunday after taking off from the capital`s Domodedovo airport.

The Antonov An-148 plane operated by the domestic Saratov Airlines was flying to Orsk, a city in the Urals, and crashed in the Ramensky district.

Russian news agencies reported 65 passengers and 6 crew were onboard.

News agencies said witnesses in the village of Argunovo saw a burning plane falling from the sky, AFP reported.

According to Aviation Safety Network, "flight 6W703 took off from runway 14R at Domodedovo Airport at 14:21 hours local time (11:21 UTC) and last contact on flight tracking website Flightradar24 was 14:27 hours."

"Weather about the time of departure at Domodedovo Airport included limited visibility (2100 m) during a light snowfall and the temperature was -5°C, overcast cloud deck at 2600 feet AGL," it added.

The Russian-made plane was 7 years-old and bought by Saratov Airlines from another Russian airline a year ago. 

Earlier, a light aircraft had crashed in November 2017 in Russia`s far east, killing six people on board.

In December 2016 a military plane carrying Russia`s famed Red Army Choir had crashed after taking off from the Black Sea resort of Sochi, killing all 92 people on board. 

The choir had been due to give a concert to Russian troops operating in Syria. Pilot error was blamed for that crash. 

In March 2016, all 62 passengers died when a FlyDubia jet crashed in bad weather during an aborted landing at Rostov-on-Don airport.

(With AFP inputs)