MOSCOW (AP) -- A Russian Il-86 cargo plane crashed into a forest shortly after taking off from Moscow's Sheremetyevo-1 airport Sunday, killing 14 people. There were two survivors, officials said.
The jagged remains of the fuselage were visible in a ditch in a wooded area of birch trees and bushes several hundred yards from one of the airport's runways. Smoke was still rising from the smoldering wreckage. About two dozen ambulances and fire trucks were racing around the scene of the crash.
Maxim Khmelov, 13, was at a nearby beach with a friend when he saw the plane begin to nose downward. He said a plume of smoke went up like a "mushroom cloud."
An eyewitness who identified himself by his first name, Konstantin, said that the plane had banked hard on its left-hand side, hit the ground and exploded.
Vasily Nayuk, an official with the Emergency Situations Ministry, said that according to preliminary information 14 people were killed. Two flight attendants survived and were hospitalized in critical condition.
Despite the crash, flights were running normally Sunday afternoon at the airport, which serves both domestic and international flights. People were riding bicycles along the dirt paths in the woods near the crash site, and some of the onlookers were dressed for the beach in bathing suit tops and shorts. There are numerous ponds and lakes in the area.
The cargo plane was on its way from Moscow to St. Petersburg. When it crashed, it barely missed the Dmitrov highway northwest of the capital.
The highway was busy, as many Muscovites were on their way back into the city from their country homes at the end of a hot summer weekend.
The aircraft belonged to Pulkovo airlines, which operates regular passenger and cargo service between Moscow and St. Petersburg.
The Il-86 is a workhorse of Russian airlines for nearly 30 years. It is a four-engine wide-bodied plane and is often used by top Russian officials for travel.
