A “mixed-up mental mode” affecting a captain who had prepared for a go-around due to adverse weather conditions but was psychologically predisposed to land led to his loss of control of a Boeing 737-800 at Rostov-on-Don, said the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) of Russia. All 55 passengers, the five cabin crewmembers and the two flight crewmembers were killed when the aircraft struck terrain.
The accident occurred late at night in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) during the first leg of a scheduled flight by Dubai Aviation Corporation (flydubai) from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to Rostov-on-Don on March 19, 2016. The flight schedule called for a return to Dubai.
The pilots previously had not flown together. “Furthermore, it was the first flight to the Rostov-on-Don aerodrome for both crewmembers,” the IAC report said. “The crewmembers held valid pilot’s licenses, [had] undergone all the necessary training and were ready to operate the flight. … The crew…
