The full horror on board an Aeroflot jet that crashed and exploded at a Moscow airport has been revealed by a hero air stewardess who kicked open an emergency exit and threw people to safety.
Tatyana Kasatkina, 34, told how she grabbed people by their collars and pushed them out of the exit to speed up the evacuation, even as others told how they were slowed down by passengers stopping to grab their luggage.
In total 41 people, including at least two children and one crew member, were killed in the inferno which engulfed the Sukhoi Superjet aircraft after it crash landed at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport on Sunday.
The captain of the flight, Denis Evdokimov, and Miss Kasatkina both claimed the accident was due to lightning which hit the plane shortly after takeoff - despite Aeroflot's safety record and early reports of an electrical fault.
Meanwhile the identities of some of the victims began emerging, including that of an American man - Jeremy Brooks - who died on board.
It is thought the majority of the dead will be Russians since the flight was domestic - due to fly from Moscow to the Arctic Circle city of Murmansk.
Tatyana Kasatkina, 34, a stewardess on board the Aeroflot plane that crashed and exploded in Moscow, has told how she kicked open the door and pushed passengers out by grabbing their collars in order to speed up the evacuation
At least 41 people died, including two children and one American man, after the jet crash landed and burst into flames at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport on Sunday. The plane's captain said the crash was due to a lightning strike
Survivors told how people stopping to collect their bags slowed down the evacuation and trapped people in the burning rear of the aircraft, where the emergency exit could not be used because of the flames
Relatives and friends of victims are seen gathered awaiting information at Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow following the crash on Sunday. The plane was a Sukhoi Superjet headed from Russia's capital to Murmansk
Steward Maxim Moiseev (left and right) was the only crew member killed during the blaze while trying to save people from the rear of the aircraft
Miss Kasatkina said: 'When the plane stopped, the evacuation immediately began. The fire was visible.
'Everyone was shouting that we were on fire, but there was no fire inside the cabin at this moment. I kicked the door out with my leg and pushed out the passengers so as not to slow the evacuation.
'Just to hurry them up I grabbed each of them by the collar from the back…
Choking back emotion, she added: 'It was all so quick. The smoke was already black. The last people were crawling to get out…
'Everyone had jumped from their seats and moved forwards, although the plane was still moving at a good speed.
'I saw the first woman calling somebody on her phone and saying – 'we are on fire, we are falling down'…
She said there was a heavy hail storm moment after takeoff from the international airport, before the plane was struck by lightning.
'There was a flash followed by popping. A bright light flash,' she said.
'We took off and got into a cloud and it was hailing. There was such a noise outside (as hail hit the plane).
'At that moment it was a popping, mainly on the ….left side… Everyone was looking at me looked at me. There was popping and a flash, like an electric flash.
'The flight deck informed us that we were returning to our home airport.'
But the plane's internal communications malfunctioned and she could barely hear the pilot when he ordered her to prepare for an emergency landing.
'I could not understand who was calling, a pilot or a steward,' she said. 'That was it, we were flying back home.'
'We took off at 6.03 pm approximately. Some 10 minutes later we got into this cloud. I saw the fire at the back, all were shouting – we are on fire! – but there was no fire inside the cabin.'
Witnesses insist that people in the back of the cabin were stuck in their seats because passengers further forward grabbed their hand luggage before exiting. Footage shows passengers emerging carrying bags and coats.
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Thirteen people were killed when a Russian plane (pictured) exploded into flames mid-air as it made an emergency landing
Smoke and flames can be seen bursting from the aircraft in Moscow, Russia, on Sunday. The cause of the fire remains unclear
Terrified passengers scrambled to evacuate the aircraft at Moscow's main international airport after the fire took hold
The SSJ-100 aircraft of Aeroflot Airlines on fire during an emergency landing in Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow, Russia
Captain Evdokimov echoed Miss Kasatkina, saying that lighting had struck the plane, despite initial reports that an electrical fault lay behind the tragedy.
He said: 'We lost radio communication because of a lightning strike. We did not have radio communications during landing.
'We managed to resume it via an emergency frequency but it was abrupt and short. We managed to say a few words and lost it. And we had to connect it again.
'Air traffic control did help us, they guided us to the runway. The speed was not high, but normal for landing.
'Everything was according to the book. We gently approached the ground, slowing down. After a complete stop we ordered emergency evacuation.
'The second pilot was the first to leave the cockpit, then I did. At first I did not glance outside. When I did, I saw a fire engine. The fire began after landing. We were not on fire when in the air.'
Survivor Petr Egorov said: 'We took off and lightning hit the plane. The aircraft returned and the landing was tough. We all nearly fainted from fear.
'The plane jumped on the runway like a grasshopper and it caught fire on the ground.'
He revealed sedatives were given to survivors in the aftermath of the crash.
Another survivor Dmitry Khlebnikov said: 'I thank God - and the stewardesses who saved me.
'They were always with us, helping people to climb the slide and get out of the cabin full of smoke… It was dark and incredibly hot inside.'
Aeroflot and Sheremetyevo airport today expressed 'deep regret' over the plane fire tragedy.
The authorities in Murmansk - the Arctic city where the plane was heading - have declared three days of mourning over the loss of life.
Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency said it was 'premature' to ban the 98-capacity Sukhoi Superjet 100 from flying despite its patchy safety record.
One passenger said: 'I was sitting in front of the engine, and saw how
