
Disturbing CCTV footage appears to show the devastating moment a Russian passenger plane crashed near Moscow, killing all 71 people aboard after 'nosediving' from the sky.

The Saratov Airlines regional jet disappeared from radar screens at 2.28pm (11.28GMT) on Sunday a few minutes after taking off from Domodedovo Airport on Sunday.

The An-148 plane crashed, with 65 passengers and six crew aboard, en route to Orsk, a city in the Urals, around 1,000 miles southeast of the capital.

Shocking drone video of the crash site shows how little is left of the plane on the snowy field, where more than 450 body parts have now been collected.

Separate footage taken from a surveillance camera near where the crash occurred picked up a fireball and trail of smoke and flames either at or close to ground level.

Experts said today that the crash may have been caused by the collapse of the plane's anti-icing system leading to possible ice in the engine. There was no mayday or alert from chief pilot Valery Gubanov that the plane, which plunged from 5,900 ft, was in trouble.

This morning it was revealed that 22-year-old Daria Tolmasova, the fiancée of Vladivostok ice hockey star Sergey Ilyin, was among the dead.

Disturbing CCTV footage appears to show the devastating moment the Russian passenger plane crashed near Moscow on Sunday, killing all 71 people aboard and scattering jagged chunks of wreckage across a snowy field

From a distance overlooking a snowy landscape, a surveillance camera suddenly picks up a fireball and trail of smoke and flames either at or close to ground level

This morning it emerged that 22-year-old Daria Tolmasova, the fiancée of Vladivostok ice hockey star Sergey Ilyin, was among the dead

The agent of Sergey Ilyin (right), defender with Admiral ice hockey club in Vladivostok, said the player had been struck with 'terrible grief' over the death of his fiancee Daria Tolmasova (left)

Emergency workers explore the site of a AN-148 plane crash in Stepanovskoye village, about 25 miles from the Domodedovo airport. Emergency teams combed the snowy fields outside Moscow on Monday, searching for debris

Discovery: A flight recorder found at the crash site of a Saratov Airlines Antonov An-148 flight in Moscow Region

Russian rescuers today worked at the crash site today as they searched for clues in the wake of the tragedy

Eyewitnesses insisted the plane broke up into pieces mid-air before plunging into the field. But investigators have said today that the plane was intact when it 'suddenly nosedived' from 5,900 ft and that an explosion came when it struck the surface, not earlier, as had been believed.

'It was found out that at the time the aircraft fell it was whole, without fire, the explosion happened after the impact,' the Russian Investigative Committee's spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko .

Citing aviation sources Kommersant newspaper reported: 'Having climbed to an approximate altitude of 1,800 meters (5,900 ft) at a speed of about 600 kilometres per hour (375 mph), the plane suddenly nosedived to an altitude of 1,500 metres (4925ft), climbed again, and then fell on the ground.

'The last time air traffic controllers saw it on their screens was at 2:28 p.m. when the plane was flying an altitude of about 900 metres (2950 ft)'.

The newspaper reported the most likely causes as 'an engine fire, a speed sensor failure, icing, or pilot error.'

Russian investigators today found the second black box as they try to understand the cause of the air tragedy. Investigators have also identified some 397 parts of the Antonov jet.

But drone footage from the Russian Investigative Committee shows the extent to which the the plane - en route from Moscow to Orsk, a city close to Kazakhstan - has simply vanished after the crash.

'Where is it?' asked one pilot.

Falling snow has covered the site, yet investigators and salvage workers are struck by the lack of large fragments of the Russian-made Antonov.

A source for RBC news agency had earlier said that investigators were considering all possible causes, including terrorism.

'This theory is unlikely to become the main one since bomb technicians who carried out an express analysis of some of the aircraft debris, found no micro-particles of explosives', the source said.

An aviation source told Moskovsky Komsomolets: 'Judging by the photos taken at the place of the tragedy, the pieces of the aircraft are strewn across a vast territory.

'However, such a thing never happens when an aircraft falls on its own and, as a rule, the debris lies in one place.

Shocking drone video of the crash site shows how little is left of the plane on the snowy field, where more than 450 body parts have now been collected

Drone footage from the Russian Investigative Committee shows the extent to which the the plane - en route from Moscow to Orsk, a city close to Kazakhstan - has simply vanished after the crash

Falling snow has covered the site, yet investigators and salvage workers are struck by the lack of large fragments of the Russian-made Antonov

Grim task: Russian officials have been scouring the snowy field for aircraft debris and human remains as an investigation into the tragedy gathered pace

A helicopter comes into land as hundreds of officials continued to examine the scene this afternoon close to Moscow

There was no mayday or alert from chief pilot Valery Gubanov (pictured) that the plane was in trouble. Experts believe he may have steered his stricken plane away from villages as part of a desperate attempt to make an emergency landing

Chief energy engineer Vladimir Normantovich and his son Alexander died in the crash. Vladimir was 60, his son (pictured) 36

Other passengers named among the victims of the plane crash include 28-year-old Ulyana Son (pictured)

Another victim Tatiana Sinitsyna was heading to Orsk via Moscow from Turkey where her daughter and little granddaughter lived

Among the victims was 33-year-old Ilya Slavsky (pictured). Experts said today that the crash may have been caused by the collapse of the plane's anti-icing system leading to possible ice in the engine

'That could mean the destruction of the aircraft happened in the air and not when it hit the ground. That also indirectly indicates the probability of an explosion on board.'

Veteran civilian and Russian air force pilot Vitaly Sokolovsky told Gazeta.ru added that terrorism should not be excluded.

'Of course modern security systems in airports these days do not allow any stranger to get in, particularly with a bomb. But so far no single cause should be excluded.

'Moreover, there is information that the crew failed to report the emergency situation on board and did not request emergency landing. It means something extraordinary took place on board, an incident that made pilots fight for lives of passengers.'

However, some believe a failure in deicing was the most likely the cause of the tragedy.

Alfred Malinovsky, vice president of the Russian pilots trade union told Interfax: 'The crash of the An-148 may have been caused by the collapse of the anti-icing system of the engine. Usually, crashes come as a result of multiple factors, several minor issues, each of them can be fatal.

'This time it is more likely to have been an explosion but it is not necessarily a criminal act. Icing is very likely (the cause). The air temperature is slightly below zero, humidity was high.

'If the anti-icing system collapses, some part of ice may get into the engine and it may result in an explosion. A huge hole on the ground means that the plane fell vertically. The crew did not have time to report the disaster.

Overhead images show the crash site - and reveal how little of the aircraft remained intact after it smashed down in a fireball on Sunday

Rescuers have descended on the snow-covered fields as they look for clues into the cause of the tragedy

Experts believed that a 'huge explosion' heard by locals came when the plane crashed to the ground, rather than in midair

The wreckage of a AN-148 plane is seen in Stepanovskoye village, about 25 miles from the Domodedovo airport, Russia

A part of a Saratov Airlines Antonov AN-148 plane that crashed after taking off from Moscow's Domodedovo airport, is seen at the scene of the incident outside Moscow, on Sunday

Witnesses described seeing the plane 'breaking in the sky' before it came crashing down after taking off from Moscow

Footage from the crash site showed parts of the plane in the snow after it came down near Moscow shortly after take-off

'Some event came all of a sudden and was very quick.'

The authorities say the preparations for the flight were normal but Meduza news outlet reported that the captain had not called for deicing of the plane before takeoff. However airport officials said anti-icing liquids was applied 'as it is a routine procedure'.

A source told Tass: 'The latest information is that the plane broke up from crashing into land, not in the air as earlier versions suggested.

'The type of damage on land, a funnel-shaped trace left by the plane indicates a possible strong impact from the plane hitting the ground. The way the plane broke into pieces also confirms it happened not in the air, but from hitting the ground.'

The plane ascended normally to 5,900 ft from Moscow's Domodedovo Airport before 'suddenly' descending to 4,900ft. Then it climbed again to 5,900 ft before immediately rapidly descending.

Some experts believe 'the pilots had time to deliberately steer the plane towards a large field so that it didn't hurt people who live in the area, where there are a number of villages'.

Chief pilot Valery Gubanov was an experienced pilot especially on the An-148.

'He had a record of over 5,000 flight hours, including 2,147 hours of piloting An-148 aircraft,' said a spokesman for Saratov Airlines.

'Second pilot Sergey Arsenovich Gambaryan (born May 14, 1973) had a record of 812 flight hours piloting this type of aircraft.'

Radio contact was lost four minutes after takeoff. The doomed plane had made 'several flights' in the 24 hours before the crash, all without problems.

There were no 'technical deviations' before the Orsk flight, said the airline.

Nadezhda Krasova, five, the youngest victim in the crash, died along with her mother Oksana Krasova (pictured together)

Several other children were killed in the crash, including 12-year-old Evgeny Livanov (pictured) and Ilya Poletayev, 17

Flight crew member Anastasia Slavinskaya, 29, (left) and second pilot Sergey Gambaryan, 34, both died in the plane crash

Among the dead was 22-year-old Daria Tolmasova, from Novosibirsk, fiancée of Sergey Ilyin, defender with Admiral ice hockey club in Vladivostok. His agent Shumi Babayev spoke of the player's 'terrible grief'.

'She was only 22 years old. We express our most heartfelt condolences to our friend and his family. Stay strong Sergei.'

Another victim Tatiana Sinitsyna was heading to Orsk via Moscow from Turkey where her daughter and little granddaughter lived.

Olympic skating star's tribute to victims Russian Olympic figure skating team captain Ekaterina Bobrova has paid an emotional tribute to victims, saying that despite securing a silver medal 'it's a dark day for us'. The 27-year-old led the Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR) to silver in the team event behind Canada, their second medal of the Games. Russian Olympic figure skating team captain Ekaterina Bobrova (pictured) has paid an emotional tribute to victims 'For me it's difficult to say the following as we are very happy that we won but in our country there was an air crash last night - 71 people perished,' she said. Her voice cracking she continued: 'As team captain and on behalf of all the coaches I would like to convey my sincere condolences to the families, it's a great sorrow for our country. 'With this tragedy it's a dark day for us, a day of sorrow.' Advertisement

Chief energy engineer Vladimir Normantovich and his son Alexander died in the crash. Vladimir was 60, his son 36.

Swiss national Ulriсh Klauein was travelling to Orsk to install a new piece of machinery at Orsk Oil and Gas Synthesis factory.

A five-year-girl named Nadezhda Krasova was the youngest victim. She died along with her 32-year-old mother Oksana Krasova.

Like many of the victims, Nadezhda and her mother were from Orsk, in Orenburg region, which will mark a day of mourning on Monday.

Also among the dead were Evgeny Livanov, 12, and Ilya Poletayev, 17, according to local reports. Stewardesses Anastasia Slavinskaya, 29, Viktoria Koval, 21, and second pilot Sergey Gambaryan, 34, also died.

Other passengers who died included Ulyana Son, 28, Kriskentia Alexeenko, 25, and doctor Lyudmila Kovchuga, 53, also died.

The governor of the Orenburg region, where the plane was flying to, told Russian media that 'more than 60 people' on board the plane were from the region.

However, Russian sources said foreigners from Switzerland, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan were also on the doomed flight. A British embassy spokesman said they were not aware of any British victims.

Aviation website FlightRadar reported the aircraft was last measured falling at a rate of 22,000ft per minute.

Fragments from the Antonov An-148 airliner were found in the Ramenskoye area, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the airport. Footage on state television showed them strewn across a snowy field with no buildings nearby.

Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said Sunday afternoon that 'judging by everything, no one has survived this crash.' Russia's Investigative Committee said all possible causes were being explored.

The crew did not report any problems prior to the plane falling out of the sky, Russian sources say.

'No reports about technical malfunctions were received from the plane's crew,' said Svetlana Petrenko of the Russian Investigative Committee which has launched a criminal investigation into the crash.

Airport staff in Moscow were tonight being quizzed over the way the plane was prepared for its flight, she said.

'Investigators are questioning employees of Moscow's Domodedovo airport who were engaged to prepare the plane for the flight. A similar inspection is conducted at the airport's air traffic control service.'

State television aired a video of the crash site, showing parts of the wreckage in the snow.

The plane crash left a crater more than 8ft deep and 60ft in diameter, but debris was said to be scattered over more than a half-mile radius.

Second pilot Sergey Gambaryan, 34, (pictured) was also on the flight and died on Sunday

Ms Slavinskaya (pictured) was one of the six staff members who were working on the doomed flight

The 29-year-old was working on the plane when it came down and crashed shortly after taking off

The 29-year-old (pictured) was killed when the plane crashed just minutes after taking off

'I heard a noise... like a roar. It was quite unusual,' an eyewitness called Alexey said.

'You know, it sounds very strange when no one is around, when you hear such an unusual roar... I put on my shoes and rushed outside. And I saw…an explosion. So big, there was such a cloud.

'Mushroom-shaped, like a nuclear explosion in miniature. The fragments were flying, burning. One of them was flew right onto me.'

Alexey Besedin, chief of 127 Fire and Rescue brigade, was first to arrive at the scene said: 'It was very hard to get to the site which is in a snow covered open field.

'There were no paths, only later did heavy machinery blaze roads to the site. Fire engines couldn't get through, we all had to walk in waist-high thick snow for about 600, 700 metres. The wind was very strong, visibility was bad because of wet snow.

'When we finally broke through the snow, we rushed to look for survivors. We found small bits of fuselage thrown in a radius of about a kilometre.'

In the crater 'we found fragments of bodies and pieces of the plane'.

'This was the hardest plane crash I ever came across,' he said. The clean-up operation at the site will take one week, said officials and a criminal probe has been launched into the crash.

Fragments of the plane will be delivered to Moscow and re-assembled at Gromov military airport in Zhukovsky, Moscow region.

'We are aiming to start aerial shooting of the area. We'll map the crash site, documenting all fragments of the plane, and then re-assemble them in Zhukovsky,' an official said.

Meanwhile, a couple have revealed how they cheated death after deciding to change their tickets at the last minute because a new car wasn't ready.

Businessman Maxim Kolomeytsev, who turned 35 today, and his girlfriend Nazezha, 25, had tickets for the doomed flight.

'I lost 10,000 roubles (£125) on making the change, but we've got our lives,' he said. 'I wanted to celebrate my birthday with my relatives in Orsk,' he said.

But he also intended to buy himself a car in his home city to mark his 35th birthday.

He said: 'The car was delayed. The showroom said it wasn't ready. We had bought the tickets for me and my girlfriend. But when I found out the car was not ready I delayed the trip by a week.'

Stewardess Viktoria Koval, 21, (pictured) was also killed while she was working on Sunday morning

Maxim Kolomeytsev and his girlfriend Nazezha (pictured together) had tickets for the doomed flight but decided to change them at the last minute

A video filmed by local boys showed wreckage in the snow and debris was found spread over a 'large area'. One source added: 'It appears the plane began to fall apart in the sky.'

An emergencies ministry source told Interfax: 'The plane crashed near the village of Argunovo. The crew and passengers had no chance.

'The plane vanished from radar minutes after taking off from Domodedovo Airport in Moscow.'

Russia has seen record high snowfalls in recent days and visibility was reportedly poor at the time of the crash.

However, investigators are likely to be looking for other explanations if witness reports are correct that the aircraft suffered a catastrophic structural failure in mid-air.

Russian President Vladimir Putin put off a planned trip to Sochi in order to closely monitor the investigation.

Putin was to meet Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Monday in the Black Sea resort, where the president has an official residence.

Instead, Abbas will meet with Putin in Moscow in the latter part of Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies.

The plane came down in Argunovo (pictured) shortly after taking off from Moscow on Sunday

Emergency responders working at the site of plane crash in Ramensky district, on the outskirts of Moscow

Police stand guard near the site of a passenger plane crash outside Moscow on Sunday. All 71 aboard the jet were killed

DISASTERS THAT HAVE BEFALLEN RUSSIAN AIRLINERS - Feb. 11, 2017: An Antonov-148 regional jet operated by Saratov Airlines crashes shortly after take-off from Moscow's Domodedovo Airport with 71 passengers and crew aboard. No survivors are reported. - Dec. 25, 2016: A Tupolev-154 operated by the Russian Defense Ministry en route to Syria crashes into the Black Sea minutes after takeoff from Sochi. All 92 people on board are believed dead and the cause of the crash isn't immediately known. - Oct. 31, 2015: An onboard bomb destroys a Metrojet airliner soon after its takeoff from Egypt's Sharm al-Sheikh resort. All 224 people on board die. - Nov. 17, 2013: All 50 people aboard a Tatarstan Airlines Boeing 737 are killed when the crew sends the plane into a steep dive while trying to land in Kazan. - May 10, 2012: A Sukhoi Superjet on a demonstration flight for potential buyers smashes into a volcano in Indonesia while carrying 45 people. There are no survivors. - April 2, 2012: A UTAir ATR-72 crashes shortly after takeoff from Tyumen; 33 are killed, 10 survive. Poor de-icing of the plane is blamed. - Sept. 7, 2011: A Yakovev-42 carrying the Yaroslavl Lokomotiv hockey team crashes soon after takeoff from Yaroslavl, killing all 44 aboard. - June 20, 2011: Forty-seven people die when a Tu-134 crashes on a highway in heavy fog while trying to land in Petrozavodsk. - Sept. 14, 2008: 88 people are killed when a Boeing 737 flying from Moscow crashes as it prepares to land in Perm. - Aug. 22, 2006: A Tu-154 of Russia's Pulkovo Airlines crashes in Ukraine. All 170 people on board are killed. - July 9, 2006: An A310 belonging to Russian company S7 skids off the runway after landing in Irkutsk and bursts into flames. All 125 aboard killed. - April 24, 2004: 90 people are killed when female suicide bombers blow up two Russian airliners after takeoff from Domodedovo. Chechen rebels claim responsibility. Advertisement

The An-148 was developed by Ukraine's Antonov company in the early 2000s and manufactured in both Ukraine and Russia.

Russian state news agency Tass said the plane that crashed had been flying since 2010, with a two-year break because of a shortage of parts.

The plane was ordered by Rossiya Airlines, a subsidiary of Aeroflot, but was put into storage between 2015 and 2017 because of the parts shortage. Tass reported that it re-entered service for Saratov Airlines in February 2017.

Initial Russian reports blamed weather or human error, but it was unclear how these squared with claims that the plane broke up in the sky.

Ilya Poletayev, 17, (pictured) was on the plane when it came down and crashed in a field

Lyudmila Kovchuga (pictured) was one of the 71 people who boarded the plane in Moscow today

Kriskentia Alexeenko, 25, (right) and Ulyana Son, 28, (left) were also killed after boarding the doomed plane

Huge pieces of debris could be seen on the ground where the plane came down on Sunday

Chilling video footage and images show parts of the plane on the snow-covered ground south east of Moscow

Members from the emergency services worked at the scene where 71 people died after the plane crashed

Emergency services rushed to the fields to try and save passengers and staff on the plane

Flight 6W703 went missing just minutes after tasking off from Domodedovo Airport (pictured)

A source at Domodedovo, Moscow's second largest airport, told agencies that the plane disappeared from radars within two minutes of take-off. Prosecutors have opened an investigation into Saratov Airlines following the crash.

Shabby equipment and poor supervision had plagued Russian civil aviation for years after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, but its safety record has improved markedly in recent years.

The last large-scale crash in Russia occurred on December 25, 2016, when a Tu-154 operated by the Russian Defense Ministry on its way to Syria crashed into the Black Sea minutes after take-off from the southern Russian city of Sochi.

All 92 people on board were killed in a crash that was later blamed on pilot error. The plane was carrying Russia's famed Red Army Choir who had been due to give a concert to Russian troops in Syria.

In March 2016, a Boeing 737-800 flown by FlyDubai crashed while landing at Rostov-on-Don, killing all 62 people aboard.

An onboard bomb destroyed a Russian Metrojet airliner soon after taking off from Egypt's Sharm al-Sheikh resort, killing 224 people in October 2015.

The Antonov An-148 plane (stock image) came down less than 10 minutes after taking off from Moscow

The plane was operated by Saratov Airlines and had just left shortly after taking off from Moscow Domodedovo Airport (pictured)