Pilot error or a technical failure are the most likely cause of a plane crash in southern Russia, in which all 62 people on board were killed, according to Russian officials.
The Investigative Committee of Russia said the 55 passengers and seven crew members were killed when the aircraft crashed as it attempted to land in Rostov-on-Don.
"At present, we are looking into two main theories for the plane crash... pilot error in connection with deteriorating weather conditions or a technical error,"
Interfax news agency cited a representative of the Committee, Oksana Kovrizhnaya, as saying.
A strong wind warning was in place and it was reportedly raining hard at the time of the crash.
The aircraft hit the ground and broke into pieces, the Committee said in a statement on its website.
The Boeing 737-800, operated by the budget flydubai airline, was flying from Dubai to the Russian city.
According to Russia's emergency ministry, the aircraft was forced to abandon an initial attempt to land.
It crashed during its second attempt, reportedly hitting the ground about 250m (800ft) short of the runway.
According to LifeNews, the plane had been circling the area trying to land for two hours because of the poor weather.
Other flights had been diverted to Krasnodar airport, 300 kilometres (186 miles) south of Rostov-on-Don.
"The weather conditions were terrible, the plane was shaking terribly," a passenger on one of the diverted flights told LifeNews, which reported that fragments of the Boeing were scattered up to 1.5 kilometres (one mile) from the crash site.
Grainy security camera images show a large explosion, with flames and sparks leaping from the crash site.
In a statement on its Facebook page, the airline said: "flydubai regrets to confirm that flight FZ981 crashed on landing and that fatalities have been confirmed as a result of this tragic accident.
"We are doing all we can to gather information as quickly as possible. At this moment our thoughts and prayers are with our passengers and our crew who were on board the aircraft.
"We are putting our emergency response in place and we will be working closely with all the authorities involved. We will share as much information as possible just as soon as we can and we will provide updated information on a regular basis."
Most of those on board were Russian nationals, Rostov-on-Don's governor told Russian television.
There are reports that three foreign passengers were also among the victims.
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