MOSCOW, October 23. /TASS/. Russian parliament's lower house, the State Duma, has suggested building an obelisk at Moscow's Vnukovo airport in memory of France’s oil giant Total CEO Christophe de Margerie who died in an air crash. State Duma deputy Alexander Sidyakin from United Russia has sent specific addresses to Chairman of international airport Vnukovo board of directors Vitaly Vantsev and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

“Christophe de Margerie had a sympathy to Russia, took anti-Russian sanctions negatively and the memory about him should be immortalised at the air crash site,” Izvestia daily quoted the lawmaker as saying.

De Margerie, 63, joined the French oil giant in 1974 after his graduation. De Margerie was called Big Moustache by his fellow businessmen and politicians, he was the father of three children.

Investigation of the jet crash in Vnukovo 

A court in Moscow is set to consider on Thursday an appeal from investigators asking to extend a custody term for Vladimir Martynenko, an operator of a snowplow that caused a tragic crash.

During the takeoff at Moscow airport Vnukovo on Monday night, the four-seat Dassault Falcon business jet, en route to Paris, collided with a snowplow, caught fire and fell onto the runway.

France’s oil giant Total CEO de Margerie, two pilots and a flight attendant, all of them French citizens, died in the crash.

Following the incident Martynenko was detained for the period of 48 hours, which expire on Thursday. Martynenko, who emerged unhurt from the incident, was reportedly under alcoholic influence, while he himself acknowledged that he had a cup of coffee with cognac in it before his shift.

According to Martynenko’s lawyer Alexander Karabanov, the snowplow operator had an over 10-year spotless career at the airport without any reprimands and was reportedly following all instructions at the time of the incident.

“He [Martynenko] emerged without a scratch after such tragedy, but since he might have sustained hidden traumas I asked the investigation to subject him to medical examination,” Karabanov said.

A criminal case has been opened in Russia into the violation of traffic safety and operation of the plane. Russian Prosecutor General Yury Chaika personally oversees the investigation.

Vladimir Markin, a spokesman for the Russian Investigative Committee, said earlier on Thursday that Four staff members of Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport were detained on suspicion of their duties’ negligence in regard to the Falcon-300 private jet crash.

They have been detained and questioned as suspects in the case,” Markin said. “According to investigators, the detained persons failed to provide safety requirements concerning flights and on-ground works and it led to the tragedy.”

The detained are chief engineer of the airport’s service Vladimir Ledenev, who was in charge of snow-clearing works at the time of the incident, flights director Roman Dunayev, intern air traffic controller Svetlana Krivsun and airport’s chief air traffic controller Alexander Kruglov, who was in charge of the air traffic at the time of the tragic crash.