CHIEF Executive Officer (CEO) of French oil company, Total, Mr. Christophe de Margerie, died yesterday after his plane collided with a snowplow on the runway at Moscow International Airport.
Agency reports quoted Russian officials as saying that the snowplow’s driver was intoxicated.
Three other members of the plane’s crew were also found dead at the scene of the accident.
The officials said they would investigate other possible causes of the accident such as pilot and air traffic control error.
The crash occurred when the landing gear of the Falcon airplane hit the snow-clearing machine during take-off, then caught fire and crashed on the runway.
The 63-year old CEO was immediately mourned by top leaders.
Affectionately known as “Big Mustache” for his signature facial hair, the late de Margerie had a “larger-than-life personality” and was “hugely respected” in French business and political circles.
The company released a statement sending condolences to the families of the victims.
The late oil chief attended President Vladimir Putin’s yearly economic showcase in St. Petersburg in May, ignoring calls for a boycott over the crisis in Ukraine.
Total is a major shareholder in Novatek, Russia’s largest independent natural gas producer. The two companies were planning to develop a massive liquified natural gas reserve in Siberia.
But the shooting down of a Malaysian airliner over eastern Ukraine in July prompted Total to suspend buying additional shares in Novatek.
Putin has expressed his condolences in a telegram to French President Francois Hollande.
In the message, Putin praised de Margerie for his role in laying the foundation of “long time fruitful cooperation between France and Russia in the energy sector.”
De Margerie joined Total after finishing university in 1974. He has held several positions with the company, including a job leading its Middle East operations. He was named CEO in 2007 and appointed chairman in 2010.
In an interview with the Financial Times, de Margerie said he rarely admitted regretting anything, except not being able to spend enough time with his children.
“I used to think quality time with my children was good enough, but quantity matters,” he told the newspaper.
Hollande expressed shock and sadness and praised the CEO for his “independence, original character and dedication to his country.”
Also, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said the country would miss de Margerie’s “panache,” his typically French sense of humour and a spirit that was “unanimously appreciated.”