Sixty-two dead after FlyDubai plane crashes, explodes on Russian runway
- 8 years ago
ROSTOV-ON-DON, RUSSIA — High winds and impaired visibility may have caused a passenger jet from the United Arab Emirates to take a nosedive on Saturday, killing all 62 people on board.
FlyDubai flight FZ981 had 55 passengers and seven crew members on board when it crashed in Russia Saturday at 3:50 a.m. local time. The Boeing 737, carrying mostly Russians, was flying from Dubai to Rostov-on-Don, a city near the Ukrainian-Russian border.
Inclement weather prevented a timely descent and the aircraft circled the airport for more than two hours. A Russian Aeroflot plane scheduled to land at around the same time also circled around and tried to land three times before it then diverted to another airport, reported the National.
As flight FZ981 circled the airport, the plane ascended to 4,572 metres but suddenly started to fall at a vertical speed of up to 6,400 metres per minute. A distress call was never made, but as the aircraft approached the airport, the pilots called air traffic control and asked about the weather conditions.
Just 240 metres from the runway in Rostov-on-Don, the plane reportedly clipped a wing and the aircraft burst into flames. According to Reuters, both of the black boxes have been retrieved undamaged.
Authorities do not believe terrorism caused the crash. Instead, they’re focusing on several possibilities: technical issues, severe weather and human error.
FlyDubai flight FZ981 had 55 passengers and seven crew members on board when it crashed in Russia Saturday at 3:50 a.m. local time. The Boeing 737, carrying mostly Russians, was flying from Dubai to Rostov-on-Don, a city near the Ukrainian-Russian border.
Inclement weather prevented a timely descent and the aircraft circled the airport for more than two hours. A Russian Aeroflot plane scheduled to land at around the same time also circled around and tried to land three times before it then diverted to another airport, reported the National.
As flight FZ981 circled the airport, the plane ascended to 4,572 metres but suddenly started to fall at a vertical speed of up to 6,400 metres per minute. A distress call was never made, but as the aircraft approached the airport, the pilots called air traffic control and asked about the weather conditions.
Just 240 metres from the runway in Rostov-on-Don, the plane reportedly clipped a wing and the aircraft burst into flames. According to Reuters, both of the black boxes have been retrieved undamaged.
Authorities do not believe terrorism caused the crash. Instead, they’re focusing on several possibilities: technical issues, severe weather and human error.