Twitter
Advertisement

Flydubai Flight FZ981 crashes in Russia, all 62 people on board killed

Crash happened as plane tried to land in strong wind.

Latest News
article-main
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

Russian officials said on Saturday that all 62 people on board a passenger jet flying from Dubai to southern Russia were killed when their plane crashed on its second attempt to land at Rostov-on-Don airport.

Russia's emergencies ministry said the aircraft, a Boeing 737-800 operated by Dubai-based budget carrier Flydubai, crashed at 03:50 (0030 GMT) at the airport in Rostov-on-Don. Officials said there were 55 passengers and seven crew on board the plane.

"Unfortunately, they all died," Viktor Yanutsenko, an emergencies ministry official helping coordinate the emergency response, was quoted as saying by Russia's RIA news agency.

Zhanna Terekohova, an advisor to the Russian transport minister, told state television possible causes of the crash included pilot error and poor weather conditions. Local officials said at the time of the crash, there was strong, gusting wind in the Rostov area.

The aircraft had to abandon an initial attempt to land at Rostov, its scheduled destination, and came down while making a repeat attempt, according to an emergencies ministry statement.

The plane came down inside the airport's perimeter, about 250 metres short of the start of the runway. Grainy pictures from a security camera pointing towards the airport, which were broadcast on Russian television, showed a large explosion at ground level, with flames and sparks leaping high into the air.

Most of the passengers on board were Russian, the regional governor said on television. "Three foreigners were on the passenger list of the plane, but that information needs checking" an emergencies ministry official said on Rossiya-24 news channel.

The Investigative Committee of Russia confirmed all onboard died when the jet attempted to land at Russia's Rostov-on-Don. "The aircraft hit the ground and broke into pieces," the Committee said in a statement on its website. "According to preliminary data, there were 55 passengers aboard and 7 crew members. They all died."

Flydubai said in a statement: "We are doing all we can to gather information as quickly as possible. At this moment our thoughts and prayers are with our passengers and our crew who were on board the aircraft."

"We will do everything we can to help those who have been affected by this accident," said the carrier, which is owned by the Dubai government.

CCTV emerged on Twitter as the plane crashed:

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement