ST. PETERSBURG, June 8. /TASS/. Experts did not find any evidence that the Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ-100) crash at Sheremetyevo Airport on May 5 was caused by the aircraft’s malfunction, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov told reporters on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

"Today there is no evidence that the plane crash at Sheremetyevo occurred due to the malfunction of the plane. I don’t want to draw any preliminary conclusions, they will be made by the commission that has its own opinion, preliminary conclusion is generally ready. According to my information, there are no questions to the aircraft’s technical condition, and even the lightning strike did not lead to irreversible consequences," Borisov said.

According to Borisov, this was a combination of factors, including human, but the final conclusion will be made by the commission. "But there are no complaints about the aircraft. It means that as an aircraft it does not raise doubts. It has once passed the Russian and European certification, a whole cycle of tests was carried out, including static ones, where flight restrictions were lifted," he added.

On May 5, an Aeroflot Sukhoi Superjet 100 passenger plane (flight SU1492) with 73 passengers and five crewmembers onboard that was bound for Murmansk returned to Moscow’s Sheremetyevo 30 minutes after the takeoff to catch fire while crash landing. Forty-one people died, none more were taken to hospital.

A criminal case was opened after the accident on charges of violating flight safety rules entailing the death of two or more people. Investigators are looking at several theories of the crash, including pilot’s insufficient skills, a technical malfunction and unfavorable weather conditions.