Russian airline owner Natalia Fileva, two others die in plane crash

March 31 (UPI) -- The co-owner of one of Russia's largest private airlines was one of three people killed in a plane crash in Germany on Sunday, the company said.

Natalia Fileva, a major shareholder in Russian airline S7 and wife of co-owner and CEO Vladislav Filev, died Sunday when a single-engine Epic LT aircraft she was in crashed into an asparagus field southwest of the German city of Frankfurt and caught fire, Bloomberg reported.

The plane was traveling from Cannes, France, with two passengers and a pilot aboard.

The pilot signed off with German air traffic control and began a visual final approach, about eight minutes before impact, an aviation spokesman said.

Russian specialists have launched an investigation into the crash.

Fileva was one of Russia's richest women and she and her husband had four children, including an adopted child.