MOSCOW/ST. PETERSBURG, December 16 (RIA Novosti) - Prosecutors in northwestern Russia opened a criminal case Saturday in connection with a fatal trainer plane crash, believed to have been caused by violations of safety rules.
The pilot and the co-pilot of the small Yak plane tried to make an emergency landing in a rural area outside St. Petersburg after a fire broke out on board. But the aircraft crashed and exploded, killing the crewmen and their only passenger, a 14-year-old girl.
