Just as General Patton’s life was cut short during recovery in the hospital after an ‘accident’.
Just as the Polish plane flying into Moscow to land crashed, decapitating the entire staunch anti-Communist leadership of Poland (See complete list here). The random person who moments after the crash filmed the aftermath with gunfire audio in the background supposedly wound up hospitalized, was recovering, then all of a sudden died. Explosive traces were even found on the plane after further investigation.
Although foul play is not certain, ‘accidents’ do happen between governments and intelligence circles. Christophe de Margerie, could very well have had enemies within the EU, which is scrambling to be free from Russian energy. He could’ve also shunned (or had been told to) a deal from Putin. Or, it was simply an accident due to incompetence. Take your pick.
- Christophe de Margerie, 63, was only passenger on Falcon 50 at Vnukovo
- Plane is thought to have had three crew members on board who also died
- Aircraft collided with clearing machine on take-off and was going to Paris
- Married father-of-three Mr De Margerie was Total chief executive for 7 years
- Snow plough driver was injured and is being questioned by police
The snowplough driver blamed for the air crash which killed the chief executive of oil giant Total has denied being drunk at the wheel of his vehicle.
Vladimir Martynenkov’s lawyer insisted his client was not guilty of causing the air crash which killed Christophe de Margerie and three others and totally denied the ‘groundless’ accusation that Mr Martynenkov was drunk.
The denials seem to imply Mr Martynenkov believes he is being framed. After 24 hours in detention so far, he is today expected to be formally arrested, allowing investigators to question him over a longer period.
He and air traffic controllers will be tested for alcohol and drugs, said the Russian Investigative Committee.
‘In regard to the snowplough driver Vladimir Martynenko, he has been detained for 48 hours and investigators plan to announce his arrest soon,’ said investigators’ spokesman Vladimir Markin.
‘Other versions [of the accident] are being investigated, including air traffic controller error.
‘Investigators are actively working with them.’
Everyone involved ‘will also be checked on the use of alcohol and psychotropic substances’.
Investigators have also since turned the spotlight on senior officials at Vnukovo airport. Several are likely to be suspended later today amid fears they could ‘interfere with the investigation’.
Mr de Margerie was among four who died instantly on board the Dassault Falcon 50 in a sudden crash last night.
The Paris-bound jet struck the ground after clipping a snowplough with its front wheel then burst into flames.
Russia’s Life News published dramatic footage of the scene after the crash, showing the still-burning wreckage of the jet surrounded by emergency workers.
Vnukovo Airport suspended all flights after the incident. A criminal investigation has been opened by the Investigative Committee, Russia’s equivalent of the FBI.
Mr Martynenkov, 63, was arrested after the collision and searching questions were being asked today about why the plane was given the go-ahead to take-off while the snowplough was still on the runway.
But initial claims that he was drunk at the wheel of his snowplough appear to have been put aside as investigators pursue new suspicions that ‘criminal negligence by officials’ was behind the tragedy.
A source told RIA Novosti news agency that a trainee flight controller was in charge of the taxiing of Mr de Margerie’s aircraft at the moment it collided with the snowplough.
Vladimir Markin, a spokesman for the Investigative Committee, said: ‘It is already obvious that the cause of the events was not at all a horrific tragic confluence of circumstances, which is how representatives of the airport are trying to present it, but criminal negligence by officials who could not ensure the coordinated actions of airport employees.’
…
The shift in focus comes after Mr Martynenkov’s attorney, Alexander Karabanov, told TV Rain there was no way his client could have been drunk at the wheel.
‘My client has a long-lasting heart disease, he does not drink at all,’ he said. ‘It can be confirmed by both his relatives and the doctors.‘
…
Amid fears the snowplough driver and a rookie air traffic controller will be framed, leading opposition politician Sergei Mironov, of Just Russia party, warned: ‘The tragedy tells us about the extreme level of negligence in the top management of Vnukovo airport and of their inability to organise the strict security of flights.
‘If the airport management prefers to find just another scapegoat – and not to take the responsibility – lessons will not be learned.’ The crash would result in massive damage to Russia’s international image, he said.
Full article: ‘Drunk’ snow-plough driver blamed for crash that killed Total oil boss claims he is being FRAMED and says he doesn’t drink because he suffers from a heart condition (BBC)
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