MOSCOW – Russia’s civil aviation authority has issued its first report on last month’s crash of a FlyDubai plane in south-western Russia, shedding light on what caused the sudden descent that killed all 62 people on board.
The Interstate Aviation Committee said Friday that a nose-down shift in the horizontal stabilizer occurred as the crew was trying to climb out of a second aborted landing during strong winds. The crew was unable to recover the plane and the Boeing 737-800 hit the ground with a pitch exceeding 50 degrees and speed of more than 600 kilometres (360 miles) per hour.
The aviation authority said its investigation into the March 19 crash in the port city Rostov-on-Don is ongoing, with help from pilots from Russia, the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates.
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