Investigators are still sorting thru the crash site, searching for clues on what caused FlyDubai flight 981 to crash short of the runway yesterday at the Rostov-on-don regional airport.
FlyDubai says that pilots had received permission to land from air traffic control. Airport authorities say that there was no communication of distress from the flight crew. The two pilots were Cypriot and Spanish, and both were apparently experienced pilots.
The alternate airports, Krasnodar (KRR) or Taganrog (TGK), might not have been reachable as early reports indicate that the plane had circled for a long time while waiting for a window in the weather to land. Ten flights on that day were diverted to Krasnodar. But, one must also wonder whether airline policy on using alternate airports frowned on such landings because of penalties and gate fees to use an unscheduled facility.
There were several conversations between the tower and the pilots regarding weather conditions:
The ministry on Emergency Situations says that 55 passengers (8 were Ukrainians) and 7 crew members were killed on Flight 981 from Dubai to Rostov-on-don, a city in southern Russia that lies near the border with Ukraine.No Westerners perished, although the very first passenger listed has a Western sounding family name, Allen.
лариса Аллен
Ганна Андриева
эльвира Белякова
виктор Беспечнов
виктория Бевзюк
марина Бевзюк
юлия Безгласная
сергей Безгласный
галина Болгова
александр Божко
ольга Божко
алина Березина
константин Чеботарев
светлана Чеботарева
дмитрий Чернов
елена Чернова
кирилл Чистяков
олег Чистяков
виктория Чистякова
владимир Федянин
валерий Гамов
людмила Гончарова
елена Калиберда
сергей Калиберда
олеся Караванцева
ирина Карпенко
Катирвели Аяпан
ольга Клименко
павел Копосов
анастасия Копосова
Копосова Дарья
Копосова Людмила
татьяна Кравченко
раиса Лобода
Маяченко Ольга
Сиам Мохан
инна Негодаева
анна Осипова
галина Пакус
игорь Пакус
алексей Шанцин
ирина Шанцина
николай Шлипченко
валентина Сомина
манна Серхиева
наталья Тарасенко
Свитлана Цехельска
Данило Цихельски
павло Цихельски
наталья Веремеевская
александр Веремейвский
виталий Веремеевский
валентина Воронова
лариса Жевед
Hotline for families needing information: +7 (800) 775-17-17. Today (Sunday) has been declared a day of mourning in the Rostov-on-don region.