Total Oil CEO, Christophe De Margerie Killed In Moscow Plane Crash

The Chief Executive of the French oil company Total, Christophe de Margerie, was killed when a private jet collided with a snow plough at Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport on Monday night. “Tonight a plane crashed when it collided with a snow-clearing machine, Three crew members and a passenger died. I can confirm that the passenger was Total’s head De Margerie.”  said airport spokeswoman Elena Krylova. 

The oil company said in a statement: “Total confirms with deep regret and great sadness that chairman and CEO Christophe de Margerie died just after 10pm (Paris time) on October 20 in a private plane crash at Vnukovo airport in Moscow, following a collision with a snow removal machine.”
The collision occurred just before midnight as the Dassault Falcon business jet attempted to take off bound for Paris.

De Margerie, 63, was on a list of attendees at a Russian government meeting on foreign investment in Gorki, near Moscow, on Monday. Hours before his death he had met the Russian prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, at his country residence outside Moscow to discuss foreign investment in Russia, the Vedomosti business daily reported.

The Vnukovo airport said in a statement that the Falcon Dassault business aviation jet crashed as it prepared to take off for Paris with one passenger and three crew on board. “During run-up at 11.57pm there was a collision with the airport’s snow plough. As a result of the crash the passenger and all the crew members died.” 

De Margerie was the son of diplomats and business leaders, and the grandson of Pierre Taittinger, founder of Taittinger champagne and the luxury goods dynasty.“His death is a big loss for the global oil/gas industry,” said Gordon Kwan, head of Asia-Pacific oil and gas research at the financial company Nomura.

Source: Guardian UK