Team Russia used to fly on crashed Tupolev plane - official

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Published time: December 31, 2012 11:02
Edited time: December 31, 2012 15:02

The Russian national football team used to travel abroad on the very plane that crashed Saturday on landing in Moscow, the Russian Football Union’s former spokesman claims.

With no passengers on board, the Red Wings-operated Tu-204 crash at Vnukovo Airport killed five crew members. The Russian Football Union’s emblem is seen on the images of the wrecked fuselage.

The plane used to carry the Russian national football team, the R-Sport agency reports, citing former RFU spokesman Andrey Malosolov.

“In 2009, on precisely that plane, Guus Hiddink’s Russian national team flew to the Azerbaijan-Russia World Cup qualifying match in Baku. I flew together with the team then as head of the RFU press service,” he wrote in his blog.

Red Wings and the FA signed an agreement in 2009 to carry the national team, while some Russian media claim that the company also carried the team to Euro 2008.

The Russian Football Union’s logo and inscription “national football team” are seen on the wrecked fuselage. (AFP Photo/Natalia Kolesnikova)