Total president killed in plane crash

MOSCOW, Russia - The president of F1 sponsor Total has been killed in a plane crash, reports Russian news agency Ria Novosti.

Christophe de Margerie, died in a plane crash at the Vnukovo International airport in Moscow early on Tuesday (Oct 21).

The news agency reports: "Together with the head of Total, all three crew members were killed." The agency reports that de Margerie's Paris-bound private jet crashed into a snow machine on the runway.

MOSCOW CRASH

Vnukovo airport confirmed that a Falcon-50, a French-built mid-sized corporate jet crashed. The jet had been due to fly to Paris and reports from the airport state that visibility at airport was 350m.

Airport spokeswoman Elena Krylova said: "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."

De Margerie was on a list of attendees at a Russian government meeting on foreign investment in Gorki, near Moscow, on Monday (Oct 20).

De Margerie is closely aligned in Formula 1 with Renault-powered teams Red Bull and Lotus and driver Romain Grosjean. The 63-year-old was CEO of Europe's third largest oil company since 2007.

Authorities are investigating the crash.