Russian cargo plane crashes

Firefighters damp down the smouldering wreckage

A Russian cargo aircraft has crashed at a military airfield outside Moscow, killing all 10 crew members.

Russian Defence Ministry officials said the Il-76 jetliner lost height soon after take-off from the Chkalovsky airfield, 30km from the capital, crashed into woods nearby and burst into flames as it hit the ground.

The plane, owned by carrier Rus, was on a charter flight carrying 40 tonnes of building materials to the Arctic city of Norilsk.

It was not clear whether there were any passengers on board.

Ageing fleets

The crash raises further questions about the safety of Russian aircraft just 10 days after a passenger plane crashed near the Siberian city of Irkutsk killing 145 people.

BBC Moscow correspondent Jonathan Charles says that most of Russia's aircraft were built in the 1970s, and many airlines are failing to maintain their fleets.

Fatal crashes are becoming more frequent as aircraft reach the end of their mechanical lives.