Investigators have begun attempting to extract information from the black boxes of the FlyDubai jetliner that crashed in Russia Saturday, killiing all 62 people on board.
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Flight FZ981 from the United Arab Emirates crash landed killing 62 people onboard amid poor weather conditions above Rostov-on-Don airport. In a statement the airline said that there were 44 Russians among the 55 passengers, eight Ukrainians, two Indians and one from Uzbekistan.
But the plane’s two black boxes were “badly damaged”, Russia’s intergovernmental aviation committee said in a statement, warning that analyzing them would take time.
Yet Sergei Zaiko, deputy chairman of the committee, tried to offer some hope saying in separate remarks that the quality of material on the data recorder was high.
Russia’s emergencies ministry said the aircraft, a Boeing 737-800 operated by Dubai-based budget carrier Flydubai, crashed early this morning. “There were 55 passengers aboard and seven crew members”. It was good enough to operate and good enough to land, as per the authorities, “he said”. French air-accident investigators also are involved because the 737 plane was powered by engines made by CFM International, a joint venture between France’s Safran SA and General Electric Co. “We fully trust the Russian authorities in this”.
“It was with great sorrow that we heard the news of this tragedy and express our heartfelt solidarity with the families and friends of the passengers at this most hard time”, he said. The Flydubai plane came down inside the airport’s perimeter, about 250 metres (yards) short of the start of the runway.
Asked if they would include explosive experts, civil aviation official Ismail al-Hosani told the same news conference: “No, there is nothing we said about (a) bomb”.
A young woman named Irina, who lived near the airport, told AFP how she saw the plane crash shortly before 0400 local time (0100 GMT) on Saturday as she got up to close a window.
Bad weather “may have resulted in an unstable approach situation leading the crew to initiate a go-around, execute a missed approach procedure and review the options to either divert or attempt another landing”, said Mark Martin, an aviation analyst and founder of Dubai-based Martin Consultancy.
Officials say it is not clear what caused the crash 950km south of Moscow.
The Russian president feels deeply for all those who lost their loved ones in the Boeing 737 crash in Rostov-on-Don, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced on Saturday, stressing that the president has made it a priority to provide all possible assistance to the relatives of the victims. Both the pilot and co-pilot had over 5,000 hours of flight experience each, he said.
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Representatives from the United Arab Emirates also arrived in Russian Federation to assist in the investigation.
