MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- A jet carrying 88 people crashed early Sunday morning in western Russia, killing everyone on board, an airline spokesman said.
A plane similar to this one has crashed in western Russia, killing all on board.
Twenty-one foreigners were on the flight, including passport-holders from Azerbaijan, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland and Ukraine, said Lev Koshlyakov, spokesman for flight operator Aeroflot Nord.
Authorities are trying to confirm the presence of an American on board, Koshlyakov said.
The person was listed as an American in the passenger list, but has a Russian last name, he said. Authorities intend to check with the U.S. embassy for a final determination.
The Boeing 737 was en route to Perm from Moscow when the pilots lost communication with air traffic control just before landing about 3:10 a.m. (2110 GMT), Koshlyakov said. He described the weather at the time as "mediocre."
Eighty-two passengers -- including seven children -- were on board, in addition to six crew members.
"It slammed in front of my house and there was a huge flame. And it looked like fireworks," an unidentified woman in Perm told Russian state television.
"It just threw me across my sheets ... Then my daughter ran in from the next room and asked if a war had started."
The cause of the crash was not immediately known and is under investigation, Koshlyakov said. Rescue teams were on the scene and had recovered the plane's flight data recorder.http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/09/14/russia.plane/index.html
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