An airport security camera video has captured a doomed Russian airliner plunging to the ground in a near-vertical crash, killing all 50 on board.
The crash at Kazan airport was shown by Russian television stations, raising a host of questions, including why the plane’s second attempt to land at night in good weather went so horribly wrong.
US aviation experts were heading to the scene to help Russian investigators, who were combing through the incinerated wreckage of the Boeing 737.
The plane, belonging to Tatarstan Airlines, crashed on Sunday at its home port of Kazan, 500 miles east of Moscow.
It was making its second attempt at a landing, according to the local branch of Russia’s Investigative Committee, which said investigators were looking into possible pilot error or equipment failure.
The air traffic controller who contacted the plane before the crash said the crew told him they were not ready to land as it was approaching but did not specify the problem.
The brief video taken by an airport security camera showed the plane going down at high speed at a nearly vertical angle and then hitting the ground and exploding.
Investigators have found both of the plane’s black boxes but said they were damaged.