All 50 people aboard a Boeing 737 passenger plane died when it crashed on its second attempt at landing at Kazan International Airport in Tatarstan, southern Russia.  The son of the Tatarstan president and the head of the FSB intelligence service were among those killed.

Officials say Tatarstan Airlines Flight U363 had just taken off from Moscow about an hour earlier.   A journalist who said she had flown on the same aircraft from Kazan to Moscow earlier on Sunday said that there was a strong vibration during the landing in the Russian capital.

“When we were landing it was not clear whether there was a strong wind, although in Moscow the weather was fine, or some kind of technical trouble or problem with the flight,” said Lenara Kashafutdinova.

“We were blown in different directions, the plane was tossed around. The man sitting next to me was white as a sheet.”

Conditions on the plane’s return to Kazan are said to have been windy.  The investigation will also cover the possibility of mechanical failure or human error.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev called the disaster “a frightening tragedy,” and offered his condolences to the surviving families victims.  The flight carried 44 passengers, including two children, and six crewmembers.