Flyet av typen Boing 737 - 800 fra flyselskapet FlyDubai hadde allerede gjort et mislykket forsøk på å lande på flyplassen i Rostov-na-Donu da det styrtet noen hundre meter fra rullebanen litt over klokken halv to i natt norsk tid.
Det var svært dårlig vær i området med regn og orkan i kastene, og ifølge nyhetsbyrået Interfax arbeider russiske myndigheter ut i fra teorien om dårlig vær som den mest sannsynlige årsaken til ulykken.
Det var 55 passasjerer og et mannskap på sju ombord i flyet. Alle omkom da flyet tok fyr etter at det styrtet.
Alt tyder på at de fleste av passasjerene var russere som hadde vært på ferie i De forente arabiske emirater. Det har nå i morgentimene samlet seg mange hundre mennesker på flyplassen i Rostov, og de får hjelp av helsepersonell melder radiostasjonen Moskvas Ekko.
Flyplassen i Rostov-na-Donu er stengt til i morgen og russiske myndigheter har satt i gang full etterforskning av saken.
I følge Moskvas Ekko utelukker man at det kan være snakk om en terrorhandling. 31. oktober i fjor styrtet et russiske fly med 224 mennesker ombord over Sinai-halvøyen i Egypt, etter at en bombe hadde eksplodert ombord.

Russia plane crash: Dozens killed in Rostov-on-Don

  • 41 minutes ago
  • From the section Europe

Russian emergency services personnel working at the crash site at Rostov-on-Don airport - 19 MarchImage copyright AFP/Russia Emergency Ministry
Image caption The FlyDubai jet crashed while attempting to land

A passenger jet has crashed in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don killing all 55 passengers and seven crew on board, officials say.
The FlyDubai Boeing 737-800, coming from Dubai, missed the runway as it attempted to land at 03:50 local time (00:50 GMT) on Saturday.
It is not clear what caused the crash but poor visibility and high winds are being considered as a factor.
There were reports of a fire or an explosion on board.
Reports say the plane abandoned its initial attempt to land and circled for two hours before crashing at the second attempt.
It came down about 250m (800ft) short of the start of the runway in Rostov, some 950km (600 miles) south of Moscow.
Most of the passengers on board flight FZ981 were Russian, the regional governor said. Another official said three foreigners were on the passenger list, Reuters reported, but this has not been confirmed.

Russian emergency services working at the crash site at Rostov-on-Don airportImage copyright AFP/Russia Emergency Ministry
Image caption Rostov-on-Don airport has been closed following the crash
A CCTV video showed what appeared to be a plane landing at the airport before being engulfed in a huge fire.
About 700 rescue workers were sent to the site of the crash and the fire was extinguished, media reports said.
A search is under way for the plane's flight recorders and an investigation has been opened into the cause of the crash.
Other flights have been diverted away from the airport.

Map of Rostov-on-Don in Russia
Flydubai plane at the Dubai AirshowImage copyright Reuters
Image caption FlyDubai is a low cost carrier based in the United Arab Emirates
In a statement on its Facebook page, the airliner confirmed the "tragic accident" and said an emergency response has been put in place.
Boeing said on Twitter its team was working to gather more details.
FlyDubai, a low cost carrier launched in 2009 with a hub in Dubai, operates flights to some 90 destinations.





Status: Preliminary
Date: Saturday 19 March 2016
Time: 03:41
Type:
Boeing 737-8KN (WL)
Operator: flydubai
Registration: A6-FDN
C/n / msn: 40241/3517
First flight: 2010-12-21 (5 years 3 months)
Engines: 2 CFMI CFM56-7B27
Crew: Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 7
Passengers: Fatalities: 55 / Occupants: 55
Total: Fatalities: 62 / Occupants: 62
Airplane damage: Destroyed
Airplane fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location: Rostov Airport (ROV) (   Russia)
Phase: Initial climb (ICL)
Nature: International Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport: Dubai Airport (DXB/OMDB), United Arab Emirates
Destination airport: Rostov Airport (ROV/URRR), Russia
Flightnumber: FZ981
Narrative:
A Boeing 737-800 aircraft, operated by FlyDubai as Flight FZ981 from Dubai, impacted airport terrain during a second approach attempt in bad weather to Rostov-On-Don Airport in Southern Russia. The airplane was destroyed and the 55 passengers and 7 crew fatally injured.
Flight 981 departed Dubai at 18:37 hours UTC on March 18. At 22:43 UTC (01:43 local time) the aircraft aborted the approach to runway 22 at Rostov Airport and began circling the area until it entered a holding pattern at 23:25 UTC.
The flight left the holding pattern at 00:28 UTC (03:28 LT) and descended towards Rostov for another attempted approach to runway 22. The aircraft crashed on airport terrain during this attempt. ADS-B data recorded by Flightradar24 show the aircraft descending to an altitude of 1550 feet when it began to climb again at 3 NM (5,6 km) short of the runway. It reached about 3975 feet until the airplane entered a steep descent before impacting airport terrain.

Timeline of events (times in UTC):
18:22 FZ981 pushed back from Stand E18 at Dubai Airport
18:37 FZ981 commences takeoff from runway 30R at Dubai Airport
19:14 FZ981 reaches cruising altitude of FL360
22:16 FZ981 commences descent from FL360
22:23 S71159 (an Airbus A319 from Moscow-Domodedovo) lands after it's first approach to runway 22
22:28 U62758 (an Airbus A320 from Khudzhand) lands after it's first approach to runway 22
22:39 FZ981 commences final approach to runway 22 at Rostov Airport
22:42 FZ981 aborts first approach at 1725 ft, 6.7 km short of the runway
22:49 FZ981 reaches 8000 feet and heads towards the northeast of the airport
22:54 SU1166 (a Sukhoi Superjet 100-95B from Moscow-Sheremetyevo) aborts the first approach to runway 22
23:07 SU1166 aborts the second approach to runway 22
23:17 SU1166 aborts the third approach to runway 22
23:20 SU1166 diverts towards Krasnodar
23:27 FZ981 enters holding pattern at 15000 feet to the southeast of the airport
00:28 FZ981 leaves the holding pattern and descends for a second approach
00:36 FZ981 intercepts the runway 22 localizer at 10 NM from the runway
00:40 FZ981 aborts second approach at 1550 ft, 5.6 km short of the runway
00:41 FZ981 impacts airport terrain after a steep descent from 3975 feet

Sources:

METAR Weather report:
00:00 UTC / 03:00 local time:
URRR 190000Z 24010MPS 8000 -SHRA SCT017 BKN040CB OVC100 06/03 Q0998 WS R22 R22/290046 TEMPO 25015G20MPS 1000 SHRA BR SCT003 BKN020CB RMK QFE741/0988
00:30 UTC / 03:30 local time:
URRR 190030Z 24012G19MPS 6000 -SHRA SCT018 BKN036CB OVC100 06/04 Q0998 R22/290046 TEMPO 25017G25MPS 1000 SHRA BR SCT003 BKN020CB RMK QFE741/0988
Wind 240 degrees, 12 m/s gusting to 19 m/s; Visibility 6000m; light rain showers; Scattered couds at 1800 feet, broken Cumulonimbus clouds at 3600 feet, overcast at 10000 feet; Temperature 6°C; Dew point 4°C
22:30 UTC / 01:30 local time:
URRR 182230Z 25011G17MPS 4200 -SHRA SCT016 BKN033CB OVC100 06/03 Q1000 R22/290046 TEMPO 25015G20MPS 1000 SHRA BR SCT003 BKN020CB RMK QFE742/0990
Wind 250 degrees, 11 m/s gusting to 17 m/s; Visibility 4200m; light rain showers; Scattered couds at 1600 feet, broken Cumulonimbus clouds at 3300 feet, overcast at 10000 feet; Temperature 6°C; Dew point 3°C
23:00 UTC / 02:00 local time:
URRR 182300Z 24009G15MPS 4500 -SHRA SCT017 BKN036CB OVC100 05/03 Q0999 WS R22 R22/290046 TEMPO 25015G20MPS 1000 SHRA BR SCT003 BKN020CB RMK QFE742/0989
23:30 UTC / 02:30 local time:
URRR 182330Z 24012MPS 3900 -SHRA SCT019 BKN036CB OVC100 06/03 Q0999 WS R22 R22/290046 TEMPO 25015G20MPS 1000 SHRA BR SCT003 BKN020CB RMK QFE741/0989