Engine in Zenit's first stage was shut down by rocket command - Energomash

MOSCOW. Feb 1 (Interfax-AVN) - The engine of the first stage in the Zenit-3SL carrier rocket switched off after receiving an automated command, which led to a crash.

"The engine did its job in a standard manner after a standard launch and switched off 20 seconds into the flight following the arrival of an emergency shutdown signal. That was done in a standard mode, faultlessly," Energomash head and executive director, Vladimir Solntsev, told Interfax-AVN on Friday.

"The engine worked perfectly. It was 100% guaranteed performance," he said.