A jet crashed in heavy fog late Monday on a highway in northern Russian, killing 44 people and injuring the eight survivors.
The RusAir passenger plane, a Tupolev 154, was en route from Moscow to Petrozavodsk. It broke into pieces and then exploded into flames when it hit the highway as it made its final approach to the Petrozavodsk airport.
Authorities didn’t know if the jet was purposely trying to land on the road, or if it just it just didn’t have an accurate read on where the runway was. The plane hit the ground roughly a mile short of the runway.
The eight survivors, who reportedly included a 10-year-old boy, were taken to local hospitals.
The plane had nine crew members and 43 passengers, and its flight-data recorders were found.