Budget airline from Dubai crashes during landing in Russia - 62 killed

Boeing 737-800, operated by the budget flydubai airline, and flying from Dubai to the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, crashed during landing. It is not clear whether it was due to pilot error or a technical failure. These are, prima facie, believed to be the most likely cause of this plane to crash in southern Russia killing all 62 people on board.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 19 March 2016.

The Investigative Committee of Russia has informed that there were 55 passengers and seven crew members on board the aircraft flight FZ981 when it crashed as it attempted to land in Rostov-on-Don. The possibilities being investigated are ... pilot error in connection with deteriorating weather conditions or a technical error. The aircraft had struck the ground and broke into pieces. At the time strong winds had been reported.
It seems the aircraft was forced to abandon an initial attempt to land and crashed during its second attempt - it had hit the ground about 250m (800ft) short of the runway. Grainy security camera images have shown a large explosion, with flames and sparks leaping from the crash site.
Most of those on board were Russian nationals but there were three foreign passengers also.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Congrats to the frequent flier of Australia who has logged 3-million miles with Qantas

82-year-old John Martin is set to enter some book of records because he is a frequent flier on Qantas who has logged 3-million miles. This Australian pensioner would reach a major milestone this week that will cement his status as the ultimate frequent flyer when he completes his 959th flight with Qantas Airways on Tuesday.
That way, he would have racked up three million miles with a single airline which would be the equivalent of flying around the world several times over.
He is a former television news editor and has been flying for more than 50 years in the course of which he has completed 148 long-haul journeys to New York and 138 flights to London.
He has already logged 95 flights and his next goal is reaching 1,000 flights with the flag carrier airline of Australia. In appreciation of his loyalty to it, Qantas has given the retired television news editor the keys to its 75th Boeing 737-800, a retro-themed aircraft.
Incidentally, John Martin never married, never had children, and he refuses to slow down even though his friends are encouraging him to take it easy as he grows older. He has flown all over the world and can name all of the 278 different aircraft he has flown on because he maintains records meticulously. It seems he keeps notes on every Qantas plane he has boarded and would like to add the airline’s first Airbus A380 to his list.