CCTV appears to show Flight 981 on fire before it crashed in Rostov-on-Don
NEW footage appears to show the Boeing 737-800 that crashed in Russia was already on fire before it hit the ground.
INVESTIGATORS combing through plane parts on a snow-covered runway in southern Russia hope to provide answers to the families of the 62 people who died when FlyDubai flight 981 crashed on Saturday.
But the biggest clue might not be on the ground at all. CCTV footage from a number of different angles appears to show the Boeing 737-800 was on fire before it plummeted to earth in the city of Rostov-on-Don.
Russian media outlet Life News has broadcast footage of the crash that shows an object falling from the sky at speed. It explodes in a fireball on impact.
The new footage was released as families gathered at the crash site to begin a long, painful process of mourning. Investigators say it could take a month to decode information captured on flight recorders. The recorders have both been recovered and were not damaged.
What is known so far is that the United Arab Emirates-based jet had travelled from Dubai to Rostov-on-Don, with 55 passengers and seven crew members aboard. Eighteen men, 33 women and four children were travelling on the plane, the airline confirmed.
Most of the passengers were Russian. It is believed 11 on board, including the crew, were nationals from other countries. There were no Australians on the plane.
Flight data confirms FZ981 made one failed landing attempt before aborting and attempting a second landing. In poor weather, that is when it all went wrong.
Ian Petchenik, a spokesman for the website Flightradar24, told AP on Saturday that the 737 initially tried to land at Rostov-on-Don at 10.31pm (9:30am AEDT).
“Based on our data, what it looks like is the aircraft made an initial landing attempt.”
Flydubai chief executive Ghaith Al Ghaith told a press conference over the weekend that it was too early to tell exactly what happened.
“We will have information about the circumstances of the incident and the black box in the future, and an investigation is being conducted in co-operation with the Russian authorities and we are waiting to see the results,” Mr Ghaith said.
“We don’t yet know all the details of the accident but we are working closely with the authorities to establish the cause. We are making every effort to care for those affected and will provide assistance to the loved ones of those on board.”
Authorities have set up a commission of inquiry and appointed a team of 50 people to investigate.
Tragic stories continue to emerge from those close to loved ones who perished. The families of pilots Captain Aristos Sokratous and co-pilot Alejandro Cruz Alava said both men were due to become fathers.
Mr Aristos’ wife is pregnant with the couple’s first child and was expected to take up a job with budget airline Ryanair on Sunday, The Mirror reports. Mr Alejandro’s spouse was reportedly carrying twins.
The two pilots had more than 5000 hours of flight experience between them. Mr Ghaith said he had no information either pilot or co-pilot issued a distress call before the plane’s wing hit the ground on its second attempt to land.
The crash is the first major incident for the airline which was founded in 2009 and transports passengers to almost 100 destinations in the Middle East, Africa and Europe from its base at Dubai’s international airport.
FlyDubai #FZ981 accident flight recorders damaged; FDR data being retrieved, CVR is now being inspected pic.twitter.com/SOPjzmW8mM
— AviationSafety (@AviationSafety) March 20, 2016
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