Passenger airliner crashes on approach in Russia


A Boeing 738 (737-800) passenger jet 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 seven crew members had been killed.

Boeing's official Twitter account tweeted a statement about the incident, saying, "Boeing's thoughts and prayers are with those on board flydubai flight FZ981 and their families and friends. Boeing stands ready to provide technical assistance upon the request of government agencies conducting the investigation."

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:

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 confirmed the reports, saying in a Facebook post, "We are doing all we can to gather information as quickly as possible. At this moment our thoughts and prayers are with our passengers and our crew who were on board the aircraft. We will do everything we can to help those who have been affected by this accident."

"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.
According to Dubai Media Office, a majority of the plane's passnegers were Russian. Of the others, eight were from Ukraine, two from India and one from Uzbekistan.

Please check back for updates.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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