MOSCOW, January 31 - RAPSI. Transport Ministry personnel will be questioned in connection with the crash landing of the Tu-204 plane at Vnukovo airport in late 2012, the Russian Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said.

On December 29 last year, a Red Wings Tu-204 plane drove off the landing strip in Moscow's Vnukovo airport and caught fire. Five people died in the crash and three others were taken to hospital. According to the investigators' preliminary conclusions, the crash was due to human (pilot) error, although there are also other theories based on bad weather conditions and technical malfunction.

The investigators believe that it would be premature to come to any final conclusions over the reasons for the crash at this stage, Markin said.

"When the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) completes the investigation, Russia's Investigative Committee will conduct a comprehensive examination [of the plane] together with the experts who designed, tested and introduced this type of aircraft," the committee spokesman said.

"In addition to determining the technical reasons behind the crash, the investigators also need to analyze the adequacy of the measures taken after the crash, including the decision to suspend the use of this type of aircraft and to revoke the airline's Air Operator's Certificate," Markin said.