Christophe de Margerie, chief executive of Total, died in the early hours of Tuesday morning when a private jet he was travelling in crashed near Moscow.

According to Russian media reports, the landing gear on the light business jet hit a snow-clearing machine at the city’s Vnukovo airport. The pilot attempted to turn the aircraft round while an engine was on fire, but the plane crashed on the runway, killing Mr de Margerie – the head of Europe’s third-largest oil company – and the three crew members on board. The driver of the snow-removal machine also died.

Debris from the aircraft was scattered up to 200 meters from the crash site, according to reports by local media. This was unconfirmed by the company. The engine was found some 50 meters from the crash site.