Aviation expert comments on deadly plane landing in Moscow Investigators work to understand the causes of the blaze after the Sukhoi Superjet-100 had to return to Sheremetyevo airport shortly after take-off Sunday evening. The pilot of a Russian passenger plane that erupted in a ball of fire on the runway of Moscow's busiest airport, killing 41 people, said lightning led to the emergency landing. Aviation expert and former construction engineer at Sukhoi Vadim Lukashevich said a lightning strike is "usually relatively painless and does not lead to any catastrophic consequences" for modern aircraft technology. The plane ignited when "the chassis pierced the fuel tank" during a hard blow against the runway, causing a "heavy leak," he told AFP. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES of Vadim Lukashevich