The passenger jet broke after landing in the South Russian city of Rostov-on-Don early on Saturday.
The aircraft travelling from Dubai to Russia had 55 passengers on board, along with 7 crew members, none of whom survived the crash. The 737-800 Boeing of FlyDubai missed the runway in its second attempt at landing at around 03:50 local time. Although the exact cause of the crash are unknown so far, witnesses said that all they saw and heard was a massive explosion. Authorities also confirmed that at the time of the crash, the weather was poor and visibility was low, along with very strong winds.
The Investigative Committee of Russia stated, “The aircraft hit the ground and broke into pieces.”
Airport officials have said that the plane was forced to circle for nearly two hours after it cancelled its initial attempt to land. At the tragic second attempt, the plane fell short of the beginning of the runway by approximately 250 metres (800ft). Rostov-on-Don, a city located 950 km south of Moscow, has now been diverting its flights to other closeby airports.
As per data received by airport officials and the regional governor, most of the travllers in the doomed flight FZ981 were Russian except three foreigners. In addition, six out of the seven crew members were non-Russian. Immediately after the crash, 700 rescue personnel were sent to the site and investigative officials started their search for the flight recorders. An investiogation has officially been opened and all involved partries are proactively trying to sort out the details.
FlyDubai, an economic airliner started in 2009 in Duba, having a flight range of 90 destinations, has confirmed the ”tragic accident” and assured that a state of emergency has been applied to its response teams. Boeing has also deployed a team to participate in the investigation.
Source: BBC
Tags: FlyDubai FlyDubai plane crashes Russia
