MOSCOW, Nov 20: A passenger plane crashed late on Monday about 100 kilometres north of Moscow, killing all 27 people on board, Russian officials said on Tuesday.

Search and rescue teams recovered all three flight data recorders from widely-strewn wreckage of the Ilyushin-18 plane. The cause of the crash had yet to be established.

There was speculation that the aircraft could have been targeted in a terrorist attack, but this was not confirmed by Russian disaster protection officials.

There were nine crew and 18 passengers aboard the privately owned plane. It was on its way to Moscow from Khatanga, in northern Siberia.

Among the victims was the head of the Khatanga air company and several of his deputies.

Eyewitnesses said the pilot appeared to be struggling to keep the four-propeller plane level and that there was a bang and flames could be seen along the wing.

An air traffic control official said the plane disappeared from radar screens when it was flying at an altitude of 7,000 metres. No emergency signals were given before the crash.

The Ilyushin-18 is a medium-sized aircraft capable of carrying 120 people and has been in service since 1959.

None of the design have crashed for technical reasons since 1975, according to Russia’s RIA-Novosti news agency.—dpa