The son of the president of the province of Tatarstan and the regional head of the FSB intelligence service were named among those who had died after the passenger jet exploded in a ball of fire when it hit the runway. The plane took off from Moscow’s Domodedovo airport just before half past six in the evening local time and crashed over an hour later. Pictures taken at the scene showed charred wreckage spread over a wide area. Forty-four passengers and six crew were on board. The plane was 23 years old. According to the International Air Transport Association Russia and the former Soviet Republics combined have one of world’s worst air-traffic safety records.