‘Hurricane-force’ wind blamed for Russia jet crash
THE wife of a British businessman is believed to be among 62 people who died when an airliner crashed at a Russian airport yesterday.
The woman, who is yet to be named, was killed when a Boeing 737-800 operated by FlyDubai exploded as it made its second attempt to land in ‘hurricane-force winds’ at Rostov-on-Don airport.
The plane was carrying 55 passengers and seven crew members from Dubai. It had spent two-anda-half hours circling the airport.
The passengers included 44 Russians, eight Ukrainians, two Indians and an Uzbek.
Of the 55, there were 33 women, 18 men and four children. Russian authorities had earlier said all but one of the crew were Russian.
News reports said the plane caught fire after the crash. CCTV footage showed an explosion and a huge flash after the plane crashed.
Vasily Golubev, the governor of the Rostov region 600 miles south of Moscow, was quoted by Russian news agencies as telling local journalists that the plane crashed about 800ft short of the runway.
He said it was caused by ‘the strongly gusting wind, approaching a hurricane level’. A spokes- man for the Russian investigative committee said experts have located the cockpit conversation recorder and are continuing to search for another device that records flight details.