American Was Among Those Killed in Russian Plane Crash

MOSCOW (AP) — A recent college graduate from Santa Fe, New Mexico, was among those killed when a Russian plane burst into flames during an emergency landing in Moscow.

Jeremy Brooks was remembered as a fly-fishing expert by his former boss, Ivan Valdez, who owns The Reel Life fishing shop.

Valdez told reporters Monday that the 22-year-old Brooks had recently graduated from Colorado College in Colorado Springs and was on his way to serve as a fishing guide in northwest Russia, his dream job.

The Russian airliner that took off Sunday from Moscow was airborne for 28 minutes before it returned for an emergency landing while still heavy with unburned fuel. The fuel ignited after a rough touchdown and flames quickly engulfed the aircraft, killing 41 of 78 people aboard.

Russian media have quoted the pilot as saying the plane was without radio communications because of a lightning strike. The fire killed 41 of the 78 people aboard the Aeroflot plane.

The plane had taken off for Murmansk in stormy weather, but quickly turned back for an emergency landing. It made a hard landing and flames erupted.

Pilot Denis Evdokimov was quoted as saying by Zvezda TV and the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper that "because of lightning, we had a loss of radio communication."

State TV quoted flight attendant Tatiana Kasatnika as saying "We took off, got into a cloud, there was strong hail, and at that moment there was a pop and some kind of flash, like electricity."

Russia's transportation minister said 41 bodies have been recovered from the burned wreckage. Minister Yevgeny Dietrich also told reporters Monday that six people who survived the disaster Sunday night have been hospitalized.

Russia's Investigative Committee said the flight recorders from the plane have been recovered and that investigators are looking into inexperienced pilots, equipment failure and bad weather as possible causes of the disaster.

Video on Russian TV showed the plane's underside bursting into flames and spewing black smoke after making a hard landing Sunday night. Those who escaped leapt out of the plane down inflatable emergency slides and ran across the tarmac.

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