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Passenger airliner crashes on approach in Russia

By Cox Media Group National Content Desk
By Cox Media Group National Content Desk

ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia — A Boeing 738 (737-800) passenger jet has crashed while trying to land at Russia's Rostov-on-Don airport according to Russia's Emergencies Ministry.

At a televised briefing headed by Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov, a ministry official told him that all 55 passengers and six crew members had been killed.

Boeing's official Twitter account tweeted a statement about the reported incident, saying, "We're aware of reports coming out of Russia and our team is currently gathering more details."

"We are aware of an incident involving our flight FZ981 from Dubai to Rostov On Don. We are investigating the details and we will publish an update once more information is available," the Dubai-based carrier said in response to questions from the AP.
State news agency Tass reported that the Investigative Committee, the country's top investigative agency, said preliminary information indicates the plane was landing when it hit the ground and broke into pieces at the airport about 600 miles south of Moscow.

Unverified footage has surfaced on social media moments before the crash:

Mashable reported that the plane made a second attempt at landing after dealing with heavy winds when the plane missed the runway by more than 100 feet, according to  authorities.

Fly Dubai is also aware of the reports, saying in a Facebook post, "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."

"The crash site is being investigated for survivors," a spokesperson for the Southern Regional Emergency Center told NBC News. "The plane is broken, debris strewn over the landing strip. A special commission is looking into causes of the incident," the spokesperson said.

There was no immediate information on the cause, although some news reports suggested weather could have been a factor. There was rain and winds of about 25 mph at the time of the crash.

Russian news reports said most of those aboard were Russian tourists but there were unspecified foreign passengers as well.

Please check back for updates.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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