The Russian agency Interfax announced that the pilot of the passenger plane that crashed today in Rostov-on-Don changed his mind about landing while approaching the airport.
"For an unknown reason, a few minutes before landing, the pilot changed his mind and decided to make a second turn, but he failed," Interfax reported, citing a source from the emergency services.
All 62 people on board a passenger plane flying from Dubai to the south of Russia died today when the aircraft crashed during the second attempt to land at the airport in Rostov-on-Don, Russian officials announced earlier today, as reported by Reuters.
More than a hundred parts of human bodies were found at the crash site of the passenger plane at Rostov-on-Don airport, Igor Oder, director of the regional center of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, said today.
Oder added that both black boxes were found, TAS S reported.
The official representative of the Russian Investigative Committee, Vladimir Markin, said that the black boxes will be passed on to experts in order to decipher the data.
Markin added that members of the Investigative Committee are currently extracting the bodies of the victims from the wreckage, which will later be sent for identification and forensic and genetic testing.
The Interstate Aviation Committee had previously reported that a commission of experts had been sent to investigate the cause of the crash.
The commission will be joined by experts from the United Arab Emirates, the USA and France, adds the Russian agency.
LATEST on #Flydubai: A video appears to show a fireball as the aircraft crashes. Watch here: https://t.co/G6a9VxZkxa pic.twitter.com/0j1M3gLwyd
- Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) March 19, 2016
The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations stated that the "Boeing 737-800" belonging to the airline "Flydubai" crashed tonight at three hours and 50 minutes local time, and that most of the passengers were Russians on board.
"The plane fell to the ground and disintegrated. According to preliminary data, there were 55 passengers and seven crew members. All of them died," the statement of the Investigative Committee of Russia stated.
Footage claiming to show crash and explosion of #FlyDubai FZ981 emerges; authenticity not yet verifiedhttps://t.co/yzCDk5dbLU
- CCTVNEWS (@cctvnews) March 19, 2016
The plane fell within the airport area, about 250 meters before the start of the runway, and the Russian media reports that there were poor visibility conditions.
UPDATE: Russian officials confirm: All 55 passengers, 6 crew killed in flydubai #981 crash https://t.co/txCHUWYRNB pic.twitter.com/pp7o3Yoasa
- ABC News (@ABC) March 19, 2016
Russian agencies report that among the 55 passengers there were 44 citizens of Russia, eight of Ukraine, two of India and one of Uzbekistan.
The eight crew members were citizens of Russia, Cyprus, Colombia, Kyrgyzstan and Seychelles.
The governor of the Rostov region, Vasili Golubyev, told state television that there were seven children on the plane.
Golubjev points out that bad weather and strong gusts of wind in the Rostov area are the primary indicators for the investigation, while the adviser to the Russian Minister of Transport Zhan Terekohova states that one of the factors is pilot error.
The representative of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in Rostov said at the briefing that the flight data has not yet been collected, and the airline "Flydubai" states that they are doing everything in their power to collect the information as soon as possible.
The Ministry of Emergency Situations in Rostov states that the plane's wing hit the ground during the second landing attempt and caught fire.
Found both black boxes
Both black boxes were found at the crash site of the Boeing 737-800, Russian authorities said.
"Both boxes have been found and today it will be decided when the decryption will be started. Then it will be clear what happened to the plane: either it was the pilot's error, or it was the meteorological conditions," said adviser to the Russian Minister of Transport Zhanna Terekhova.
The cause of the Boeing crash was pilot or technical error
The Russian Investigative Committee announced today that the most likely causes of the crash of a passenger plane in the south of Russia, during which 62 people died, were pilot error or technical error, Russian agencies report.
"We are currently considering two main theories about the plane crash in Rostov-on-Don: pilot error related to bad weather conditions or technical error," the Interfax news agency said, citing Investigative Committee representative Oksana Kovrizhnaya.
Putin: Provide assistance to the families of those killed in the plane crash
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to the families and friends of those killed in the plane crash in the south of Russia and said that it is a priority to provide help to all those who lost their loved ones, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today.
He added that Rostov Governor Vasili Golubyev and Russian Emergency Situations Minister Vladimir Puchkov submitted a report on the on-site investigation to Putin, Reuters reported.
The governor said each victim's family will receive one million rubles, which is about $14.800.
The data of the "Boeing 737-800" aircraft, which crashed during landing at the airport in Rostov-on-Don, have not yet been found, said the head of the southern regional center of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, Igor Oder.
"The black boxes have not been found yet, rescuers and investigators continue to work," he added.
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