Black boxes examined in fatal Russian plane crash

Rescuers work at the site where a plane careered off the runway at Vnukovo Airport in Moscow, Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012. A Tu-204 aircraft belonging to Russian airline Red Wings careered off the runway at Russia’s third-busiest airport on Saturday, broke into pieces and caught fire, killing several people. (AP Photo/Alexander Usoltsev)

MOSCOW— Investigators on Sunday examined flight recorders and other evidence to try to determine the cause of the airliner crash in Moscow that killed five people, an official said.

The Tu-204 belonging to Russian airline Red Wings was carrying eight people, all of them crew members, when it careered off the runway Saturday while landing at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport. It went partly into an adjacent highway, broke into pieces and caught fire.

Four people were pronounced dead soon after the crash and the airline said on its Twitter account that a fifth, a flight attendant, died Sunday. Those who died Saturday were the pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer and another attendant, Red Wings said.

The survivors were reported in critical or serious condition in Moscow hospitals.

Vladimir Markin, a spokesman for Russia’s main investigative agency, was quoted by Russian news agencies saying the data recorders were being examined, along with fuel samples. In addition, he said flight documents for the plane have been taken from the airline for examination.