A plane carrying 62 people has crashed while attempting to land at Russia's Rostov-on-Don airport, killing all those onboard, officials say.

Key points: 55 passengers, 7 crew members killed in FlyDubai plane crash

55 passengers, 7 crew members killed in FlyDubai plane crash Russian authorities say bad weather caused crash

Russian authorities say bad weather caused crash FlyDubai, Boeing gathering details

The plane, operated by Dubai-based carrier FlyDubai, "hit the ground and broke into pieces," the Investigative Committee of Russia said in a statement on its website.

"According to preliminary data, there were 55 passengers aboard and 7 crew members. They all died."

FlyDubai released details of the passengers' nationalities in a statement on its Facebook page.

"FlyDubai confirms that flight FZ981 was carrying 55 passengers from 4 different nationalities: 44 Russian, 8 Ukrainian, 2 Indian, 1 Uzbekistani," the statement said.

The Russian Emergency Ministry said in a statement on its website that six of the crew were non-Russians, but it did not reveal their citizenship.

Russia's state-run RIA Novosti news agency said the Boeing 737 crashed to the left of the runway during bad weather.

In an earlier statement, FlyDubai said the passengers were made up of 33 women and 18 men, including four children, with seven crew also on board.

Human error or technical failure possible cause

The Investigative Committee of Russia was looking at two possible causes for the crash: pilot error "in connection with deteriorating weather conditions" or a technical error, Interfax news agency quoted Oksana Kovrizhnaya, a representative of the committee, as saying.

Russian emergency services personnel working at the crash site. ( AFP: Russian Emergency Ministry )

FlyDubai's chief executive said the company was in deep shock.

"Our hearts go out to the families and friends of those involved," Ghaith Al Ghaith said in the statement from the airline.

"We don't yet know all the details of the accident but we are working closely with the authorities to establish the cause.

"We are making every effort to care for those affected and will provide assistance to the loved ones of those on board."

The airline has set up family reception centres for relatives of passengers.

FlightRadar24 shows the plane circling a number of times and losing then regaining altitude and speed. ( www.flightradar24.com )

Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 shows the plane making a number of loops, as well as gaining and losing speed and altitude many times, prior to the crash.

In a statement, Russia's emergencies ministry said the aircraft had to abandon an initial attempt to land and came down at 3:50am local time while making a repeat attempt.

Through a Kremlin spokesman, Russian President Vladimir Putin said giving assistance to the relatives of those killed was the priority, local media said.

"The head of the state said that now the main thing is to work with the families and the loved ones of those who had died," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying.

In a statement, Boeing said: "Thoughts and prayers are with those on board FlyDubai flight FZ981 and their families and friends."

"Boeing stands ready to provide technical assistance upon the request of government agencies conducting the investigation."