A maintenance worker, who was supposed to repair a light-engine plane in Russia's Tatarstan region, hijacked the aircraft and crashed while landing, which resulted in his and the other passenger's deaths, local investigative authorities said on Sunday.

According to their statement, the culprit of the accident arrived at the airfield for repair works. He was tasked with pumping the vehicle's landing gear, so he drove down the runway on the plane.

"For some reason, he [maintenance worker] then made an unauthorized take-off, without permission, and after a few kilometres made a hard landing. There was a woman in the cockpit with him, her identity is being established," the authorities stated.

A photo from the scene of the accident was shared on Twitter.