Before the deadly crash, the Russian aircraft was heavy with extra fuel

A Russian airliner who took off from Moscow was airborne for just 28 minutes before returning to make an emergency landing while still heavy with unburned fuel, which then ignited after a rough touchdown. Flames swallowed the aircraft quickly and killed 41 of the 78 people on board.

One day after the horrific accident at Sheremetyevo airport on Sunday, Russian news media quoted pilot Denis Evdokimov as saying that he had followed excess weight landing procedures. But no fuel has reportedly been dumped by the crew, which is common for flights that have to land shortly after takeoff to avoid excessive heaviness.

The pilot said he wasn’t sure why he landed hard on the plane. The video showed flames bursting as it touched down from the jet’s underside, then raging across the back of the fuselage of the Sukhoi SSJ100 within seconds as the airliner bounced down the runway.