The founder of Russian carrier S7 Airlines and one of the country’s richest people Natalia Fileva has died after her private aircraft crashed in Germany.
Fileva, 55, and her father Valery Karachev were killed on Sunday (European time) when their six-seater Epic-LT crashed en route from France to Egelsbach in Germany. The pilot was also killed in the accident.
The aircraft came down in an asparagus field near Erzhausen, six miles south of Frankfurt, at around 1530 local time.
To further compound the tragedy, two more people were believed to have died in a collision with a police vehicle which was responding to the scene.
Fileva, whose personal fortune was estimated at A$850 million became known as the “Iron Lady” of the Russian aviation industry after she founded the airline S7 with her husband.
Based in Siberia, S7 is Russia’s second-largest behind state flag-carrier Aeroflot. It is a member of the oneworld airline marketing alliance.
The airline in a message on its Facebook page Fileva would forever remain in the memory of its employees and expressed its deepest condolences to families and friends.
