Investigators say equipment failure caused a Russian airliner to crash in Moscow last month, killing five people.

The Russian-made Tupolev Tu-204 belonging to Red Wings airline careered off the runway at Moscow's Vnukovo airport, rolled across a snowy field and slammed into the slope of a nearby highway, breaking into pieces and catching fire.

The crash killed five of the eight crew members aboard the jet, which was returning to Moscow from the Czech Republic with no passengers aboard.

The Moscow-based Interstate Aviation Committee said Thursday that the crash occurred because thrust reversers on the plane's engines failed, even though the crew repeatedly tried to activate them. Panels on the plane's wings designed to rise while landing and slow the aircraft down also failed to work.