IRKUTSK, April 3. /TASS/. The crew of a strategic bomber guided the aircraft away from houses in the Usolsky District in the Irkutsk Region minutes before it crashed, Governor Igor Kobzev told TASS.

On Wednesday, a Tu-22M3 strike bomber crashed near the village of Buret. While a four-member crew ejected, one pilot was killed. No damage to houses or civilian casualties occurred.

"According to preliminary information, the pilots steered the Tu-22M3 away from homes minutes before it crashed," Kobzev shared as he extended "a low bow" to who he called high-class professionals and offered condolences to the family and friends of the killed pilot.

The three surviving crew members of the crash remain under medical supervision. The accident might have been caused by technical failure, preliminary data showed.