Shareholder and Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of S7 Group Natalia Fileva has died in a crash of a private Epic-LT plane in Germany, the company’s press service reported.

"On March 31, 2019, during landing of a private Epic-LT plane at the Egelsbach Airport (Frankfurt-am-Main), S7 Airlines shareholder Natalia Valerievna Fileva was killed. She was 55. So far, the circumstances of the tragedy are unknown," the press service said.

According to the company, the international commission will investigate the circumstances of the death of Fileva along with the Russian aviation authorities.

"The investigation of the incident will be conducted by an international commission in the prescribed manner with the participation of the Russian aviation authorities," the company said.

"The team of the S7 Group expresses its deepest condolences to the family and friends. The company’s employees will always remember Natalia Valeryevna as a bright, caring leader and a wonderful person. This is an irreparable loss for the whole team," S7 added.

Natalia Fileva was born in Novosibirsk. She owned S7 Group together with her husband Vladislav. The group includes S7 Airlines, the largest private airline of the Russian Federation, and its subsidiary Globus, which is responsible for domestic transportation.

Russian specialists will take part in the investigation of the tragedy. So far German media reported that the pilot had not notified aviation authorities of any malfunctions during the flight.

The American, Epic E1000 turboprop light aircraft apparently crashed into the ground as it was preparing to make a landing at Egelsbach airport. The plane was destroyed and completely burnt out as it hit the ground, according to police. The debris is scattered around an area of a 20 meter-radius.

A representative of the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) told Sputnik that the agency had launched a probe into the accident. Germany's air traffic control agency DFS told Sputnik said the pilot did not report having problems before the plane vanished from radar.

"We can only speculate. The pilot might have lost control of the aircraft or experienced a technical fault. There is no certainty at the moment", a DFS spokesperson said.

A source in the Russian space industry said S7 was working on a strategy for commercial space launches at Natalia Fileva's request. It was to be laid out at the upcoming meeting of Russia's state security council.

"The S7 Board of Directors was expected to discuss and approve a new strategy for S7 Space […] This issue will be postponed due to Natalia Fileva's death", the source said.

Fileva told Sputnik earlier that the company was going to cancel a contract with a Ukrainian rocket maker on the production of Zenit launch vehicles and use the soon-to-be-built Soyuz-5 rockets for launches from its recently purchased Sea Launch floating platform off Long Beach, California.

Russia's Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin expressed Sunday his condolences to the family and relatives of Natalia Fileva, the co-owner of Russia's S7 Airlines and said that the accident was his "personal tragedy", according to the Roscosmos press-service.

"I want to express sincere condolences to the husband and family of Natasha Fileva on behalf of my colleagues at Roscosmos. She was a great aviation and space enthusiast, and her death is a personal tragedy for all of us," he tweeted.    

Natalia was the wife of Vladislav Filev, the CEO and co-owner of S7 Airlines – Russia’s biggest private airline holding company. Her personal wealth amounted to $600 million. The couple have four children, including one adopted child.