Total's CEO Cristophe de Margeria, died Tuesday when his private plane collided with a snowplow while on the ground at the Moscow International Airport's runway.

According to Russian investigators, the driver of the snowplow was drunk when the incident happened.

Along with the French oil company's CEO, there were also three other people who were found dead in the plane.

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Reports stated that during the plane's take-off procedures  at around 11:57 p.m. Monday, the plane hit the snowplow, burst into flames and then crashed.

In a statement released by the Investigative Committee official, Tatyana Morozova, she said the snow plow driver, who was not injured during the incident, is now being questioned, along with several witnesses and air traffic controllers.

According to her, for the time being, it has been established that the snowplow's driver was inebriated when the collision happened.

Footage released by the NTV Television showed the scorched plane in a field of grass.

After the news of the 63-year-old de Margerie's death broke, it was immediately mourned by other leaders.

De Margerie, who was more popularly known by his nickname Big Mustache, because of the thick mustache he always sported, was a highly respected businessman and was a "larger-than-life personality," according to the Financial Times.

The French businessman was also a regular figure in global economic gatherings and was hugely respected in political circles.

He was one of the top critics of the Western sanctions against Russia, and has even gone to St. Petersburg in May to attend Putin's economic showcase, despite the issue with Ukraine and encouragements for a boycott.

In 1974, de Margerie began working for Total and has risen through the ranks in the company, until he reached the position of CEO in 2007.

During an interview with the Le Monde newspaper in 2007, de Margerie said many told him that Total would be gone from the market in a couple of months, but he proved people wrong when the company claimed that it has become the fifth largest oil and gas company in the world.

TagsRussia, Moscow, Paris, Total SA, total