News

Why The Flydubai Plane May Have Crashed

by Jenny Hollander

Early Saturday morning Russia time, shortly before 4 a.m., a Flydubai plane carrying between 50 and 60 people crashed just short of the runway in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don. All passengers on Flight FZ981 are presumed dead, though reports on the exact death toll vary. Flight data reveals that the plane circled the airport before attempting to make landing, which may offer a clue as to why the Flydubai plane crashed. Update: The plane was carrying 55 passengers and 7 crew members when it crashed. All 62 people on board were killed.

Although the Russian ministry of transport confirmed the crash, very few other details are known. However, Mashable reports that CCTV footage posted to YouTube shows the plane trying to land at a strange angle, likely because of poor visibility. Mashable also reports that the flight had tried to land once before, but had terminated that landing because of the weather.

The plane is being reported as being either a Boeing 737 or a Boeing 738. "We're aware of reports coming out of Russia and our team is currently gathering more details," Boeing tweeted. Meanwhile, in a statement posted to its social media accounts, Flydubai wrote: "We are aware of an incident involving our flight FZ981 from Dubai to Rostov On Don. We are investigating further details and will publish an update once more information is available."

No official cause of the crash has been given, but it appears that the plane had been having difficulty landing due to the Rostov-on-Don's weather conditions.

Authorities are at the scene.

Update: According to CBS, Vasily Golubev, governor of the Russian region of Rostov, said that the plane crash was likely caused by heavy winds "approaching a hurricane level." Additionally, Russian aviation experts have said that the plane's deep descent indicates that the crash was caused by a gust of wind. Investigators are still exploring other possible causes such as pilot error as well.