The crash killed Total CEO Christophe de Margerie and exposed runway safety failures at a major Moscow airport.
Key Facts
- Flight
- Unijet Flight 074
- Aircraft type
- Dassault Falcon 50 business jet
- Total fatalities
- 4 people
- Notable victim
- Christophe de Margerie, Chairman & CEO of Total
- Cause
- Collision with snow plow on runway
- Snow plow driver condition
- Found to have alcohol in blood; pleaded guilty
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
A snow removal vehicle operator, later found to have alcohol in his blood, allowed his snow plow to stray onto an active runway at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow as Unijet Flight 074 was beginning its takeoff roll on the night of 20 October 2014.
The Dassault Falcon 50 carrying four occupants, including Total's Chairman and CEO Christophe de Margerie, struck the snow plow during takeoff and crashed, killing all four people on board. The snow plow driver sustained injuries but survived the collision.
The snow plow driver pleaded guilty to causing de Margerie's death. The accident prompted scrutiny of airfield vehicle operations and ground crew sobriety standards at Russian airports. De Margerie's death removed a prominent voice in European energy leadership.
Human Cost
Each dot represents approximately 10,000 deaths. Total estimated: 4 (other)