Investigators claim Flydubai captain ‘calmly put jet into nosedive’ before smashing into Russian airport in chilling echo of Germanwings disaster
Probe looking into possibility Greek-Cypriot captain Aristos Socratous, 38, ploughed plane into runway at Rostov-on-Don deliberately
A PROBE into the FlyDubai flight which crashed in Russia this year is said to be looking at whether the pilot caused the disaster deliberately.
The budget airline’s Boeing 737 came down in poor weather as it tried to land in Rostov-on-Don on 19 March.
An investigation into the causes of the crash began after all 55 passengers and seven crew died in the fireball.
It was thought that pilot error, crew exhaustion or technical problems were behind the disaster.
But it has now emerged that one of the possibilities being looked at is that the pilot ploughed the aircraft into the ground on purpose.
Citing an anonymous source, Interfax news agency said the probe was looking at whether “deliberate actions of the pilot might have caused the crash” of Flight FZ 981 from Dubai.
The source was quoted as saying: “A preliminary inquiry has determined that the Boeing 737-800 captain, who presumably was aware of his actions and properly assessed the situation and the aircraft's position relative to the ground, kept the control knob switched on for 12 seconds, so turning the horizontal stabiliser to the nosedive position.”
The source also told how the plane’s black box records revealed Greek-Cypriot captain Aristos Socratous, 38, ignored his co-pilot as the plane plummeted.
The source said: “To all of the co-pilot's questions, the captain responded that everything was okay.
“His tone was calm and no nervousness is heard in his voice.”
The theory is a chilling echo of the Germanwings air disaster in March 2015.
All 150 people on board the flight died after suicidal co-pilot Andreas Lubitz ploughed the aircraft into the side of a mountain in the French Alps.
And there has been talk that the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 could have been the result of a similar act.
Newly released police documents show Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah practised crashing the plane into the Indian Ocean on a simulator just weeks before it disappeared.
The body in charge of looking into the FlyDubai crash, the Russian Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK), officially denies the reports.
A spokesman said: “MAK has nothing to do with this information so we cannot comment on it.”
But the committee admitted in April that the crash happened after the plane aborted its attempt to land.
It pulled up after getting down to just 720 ft before climbing to 3,300 ft and then nosediving, it said.
Speaking at the pilot’s funeral in June, Socratous’s cousin said: “We lost one of the most important members of our family – our pillar.”
He was described as “a very great man – dignified, principled, honest and kind-hearted.”
The crash “should and could have been avoided and responsibilities will be sought,” the relative said at the ceremony in St Nicholas church in Limassol.
One of the other possible causes of the crash that was being looked at was the tiredness of staff at FlyDubai.
The budget airline has been hit by claims it forced exhausted pilots to fly dangerously long hours – despite their protests over safety.
A spokesman for FlyDubai denied the claims, saying: “We operate to the highest standards.”
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