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Cause of Airplane Crash That Killed Total CEO Found

An investigator works at the wreckage of a private jet which collided with a snowplow at Vnukovo airport in Moscow, Oct. 21, 2014. AP

Investigators from the Interstate Aviation Committee have determined the cause of a crash that killed the Total oil company's Chairman and CEO Cristophe de Margerie at Vnukovo International Airport in 2014. 

"The accident occurred at night-time in foggy conditions due to a collision with a snowplow that had strayed onto the runway and stopped there," a statement on the IAC's official web site states. 

This was followed by a series of details on the most likely reasons for the crash.

Among them was the critique that the airport personnel manuals had no guidance on how to react over losing control of airport vehicles. 

Another reason in the list was a "lack of proper supervision from the airport service shift supervisor, who had alcohol in his system, over the airfield operations."

The crash of the Dassault Falcon 50 jet occurred on Oct. 20, 2014 as the plane was taking off on a flight back to Paris. All four passengers and crew were killed in the collision. 

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