Dubai Airliner crashes in Russia, killing all 62 on board

A passenger jet operated by FlyDubai nosedived and exploded in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don after several landing attempts early Saturday, killing all 55 passengers and seven crew members on board.

The powerful explosion destroyed the Boeing 737-800, but investigators recovered both flight recorders. Officials believe a sudden gust of wind caused the crash.

“Our primary concern is for the families of the passengers and crew who were on board, said the airline’s CEO, Ghaith al-Ghaith. “Everyone at FlyDubai is in deep shock and our hearts go out to the families and friends of those involved.”

He said the pilots, who were from Cyprus and Spain, were “quite experienced” and had not issued any distress signals prior to the crash. The cabin crew included two Russians and citizens of Seychelles, Colombia, and Kyrgyzstan.

Al-Ghaith added that the plane was produced in 2011 and underwent a detailed maintenance inspection in January.

Rostov regional Gov. Vasily Golubev said that “by all appearances, the cause of the air crash was the strongly gusting wind, approaching a hurricane level.”

According to the weather data reported by Russian state television, winds at ground level weren’t dangerously strong at the moment of the crash, but at 1,640 feet and higher they reached near-hurricane speeds of around 67 miles per hour.

President Vladimir Putin offered his condolences to the victims' families and top Russian Cabinet officials flew to the crash site to oversee the investigation.

It was FlyDubai's first crash since the budget carrier began operating in 2009.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.