Disturbing footage of survivors of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 crash in Moscow clutching their baggage as they leave the burning aircraft has outraged aviation experts.

With the death toll rising to 41, fewer than half of those on board were successfully evacuated.

And questions are now being asked about how many lives might have been saved had passengers obeyed flight crew instructions and left their possessions on board.

Concerns have also been raised over video footage uploaded live to Facebook by one passenger as the plane was being evacuated, showing flames consuming the internal rear end of the cabin.

Aviation writer and author of Airline Ratings, Geoffrey Thomas, says although it is still too early to know with any certainty, it is "extremely likely" the death toll would have been lower had the plane been evacuated quicker.

"What is really concerning here is if you look at the vision you can see them carrying their bags ... and there's passengers inside taking videos," Thomas said.

"Clearly this is another situation where passengers getting their bags off, instead of just getting off the airplane, has tragically caused... people to lose their lives.

Chevron Right Icon 'This is another situation where passengers getting their bags off ... has caused ... people to lose their lives.'

"It's just a real tragedy that this has happened, and it's been a problem industry has been looking at for some time, with passengers not obeying crew instructions to get off the airplane as quickly as possible."

This 2016 video, below, captures the chaos of flight EK521 as people try to grab luggage from overhead lockers after the cabin begins to fill with smoke.

Flight attendants can be heard screaming: "Leave your bags behind! Jump! Jump and slide!"

Below is what remained of Flight #EK521.

Thomas says the industry standard for evacuating a commercial size aircraft with half the emergency exits in operation is 90 seconds.

Two of the four emergency exits were in use after the Sukhoi Superjet 100 crash-landed at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on Sunday.

But the evacuation appeared to take around six minutes before the plane was engulfed with flames.

A Russian aviation investigative committee has confirmed 78 people were on board, including crew members, and 37 survivors.

Watch, below, the way a plane should be evacuated.

Play Video A video showing the procedure that passengers and crew onboard a jet evacuate in an emergency. A video showing the procedure that passengers and crew onboard a jet evacuate in an emergency.

Time is critical

Spokesman for the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, Peter Gibson, says many people have become complacent about following crew instructions in the highly unlikely case of an emergency.

"Most people fly reasonably regularly, and we've become blasé about it," he said.

"But occasionally, very occasionally, accidents do happen and in those circumstances passengers have got to follow instructions.

"Time is critical and (evacuation procedures) have been developed over decades, based on investigations from previous accidents.

"Taking videos, grabbing bags, anything that delays evacuation is placing your life at risk - and other people's lives."

Passengers laden with baggage evacuating a Cathay Pacific Boeing 747 aircraft after an aborted takeoff from Shanghai in 2011. Credit: Getty Images

Concerning trend

Gibson says there are multiple danger factors when passengers ignore crew instructions and grab their luggage in emergency situations.

It doesn't just delay evacuation from people clogging the aisles and fumbling in overhead lockers.

Luggage protrusions have the potential to puncture an evacuation slide, rendering it inoperable for those behind.

And bags can become missiles as people exit, knocking out themselves or other passengers, or creating obstructions at the base of the slide.

Duty free bags containing alcohol pose an additional hazard, from flammable liquids and broken glass.

Passengers laden with baggage evacuating a Cathay Pacific Boeing 747 aircraft after an aborted takeoff from Shanghai in 2011. Credit: Getty Images

Thomas says the airline industry has observed a concerning trend of airline passengers valuing their luggage over their own personal safety, and that of their fellow travellers.

Following the 2015 British Airways Flight 2276 crash landing in Las Vegas, which showed footage of passengers walking away from the smouldering aircraft dragging luggage behind them, the British Civil Aviation Authority issued a blunt warning.

British registered airlines needed to hammer home the importance of instructing passengers to leave their possessions behind in an emergency, because "some passengers appear not to assimilate, or not to heed such (safety) information and remain unaware of its significance to their, and their fellow passengers’, overall safety."