Flydubai plane crashes in Russia; 62 dead

After circling a southern Russian airport for more than two hours because of highground-level winds and poor visibility, a passenger jet from the United Arab Emirates crashed during a landing attempt, killing all 62 people aboard.The flydubai Boeing 737 took off from Dubai and was scheduled to land at the Rostov-on-Don airport at 1:20 a.m. Saturday (6:20 p.m. ET Friday), Russian Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov said.But it didn't come down -- about 800 feet from a runway -- until 3:50 a.m. By that point, Russian state media reported, there were winds of about 60 mph.Authorities have ruled out terrorism as a cause of the crash. Instead, according toinvestigative committee spokeswoman Oksana Kovrizhnaya, they will be looking at three possibilities: technical issues, severe weather and human error.Kovrizhnaya said the investigations will take at least two months, as required by Russian law, but "could be prolonged," according to state-run Sputnik news.Investigators from UAE, U.S. to join Russian colleaguesThe plane's pilot had circled the airport hoping the weather would clear, Russia's emergency minister said. After more than two hours, the pilot attempted to land.Instead, the aircraft's tail clipped the ground as it approached Rostov-on-Don's airport, killing all 55 passengers and seven crew members.The "main phase" of the search operation has been completed, said Vladimir Puchkov, the Russian emergencies minister, according to Sputnik news. The airport will be closed until Sunday, state-owned news channel Russia-24 quotedofficials as saying. Until then, flights are being redirected 141 miles south to the city of Krasnodar.Hundreds of personnel -- from investigators to medics to psychologists on standbyto assist grieving family members -- quickly converged on the crash site, and morehelp is on the way.Four investigators will be coming from the United Arab Emirates, UAE General Civil Aviation Authority official Ismail Al Hosani told reporters in Dubai.And the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board will send a team as well, accompanied by technical advisers from the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing.Boeing said in a statement it will serve as technical adviser to the investigating authority in charge, the Russian Interstate Aviation Committee.Workers at the crash scene already had both of the plane's flight data recorders and one of two voice recorders by midday Saturday, state-run Ria Novosti reported.4 children among victimsThe UAE-based airline said 44 of the passengers were Russians, along with eightUkrainians, two Indians and one Uzbekistani. Thirty-three of the passengers were women, 18 were men and four were children.Flydubai insisted its primary concern was for the relatives of the victims."We don't yet know all the details of the accident but we are working closely withthe authorities to establish the cause. We are making every effort to care for thoseaffected and will provide assistance to the loved ones of those on board," flydubaiCEO Ghaith Al Ghaith said.The

search operation is expected to end at 9 a.m. Sunday.The victims' remains have been recovered and sent for forensic analysis, he said.