FlyDubai plane crash: Wives of pilot and co-pilot are pregnant

Wives of the pilot and co-pilot of the crashed FlyDubai flight FZ981 are expecting children, Gulf News reports. The plane crashed early on Saturday morning on approach in Rostov-on-Don, killing 62 people on board, including seven crew members.

Captain Aristos Sokratous, 38 recently married, was expecting a son with his wife while the wife of Alejandro Cruz Alava, the plane’s co-pilot, is expecting twins. Sokratous was just days away from beginning a new life in his native Cyprus.

Flight FZ981 was expected to be one of his final flights with the airline, as he was planning to return to live in Cyprus with his wife as they awaited the birth of their son.

A source close to Sokratous told Gulf News that he had handed his notice into flydubai and was about to take up a job with Ryanair on Monday. C-pilot Cruz Alava, 37, moved to Dubai in 2014 to work for flydubai, having flown for two airlines in Spain.

He was a native of La Laguna, Tenerife where he had flown for local airlines Binter and Naysa. "We have all gone mad," said Sokratous’ friend, Andreas Christodoulou, to star.gr, a Greek website. "Aristos was the best child, I can not believe, it my phone does not stop ringing. We are all frozen by what happened."

Sokratous, who trained at Oxford Aviation Academy, also worked for Helios Airways, which shut down after a Boeing 737 crashed en route from Larnaca to Athens, killing 121 people in August 2005. Reports said this was the first time Sokratous was attempting to land at the airport in Rostov-on-Don.

Sokratous’ Facebook is testament to his love of motorcycles and racing, which he participated in until 2013, a source close to the pilot told Gulf News. He has race results listed on the European Drag Racing Academy, and had posted a video of biking at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi in March 2013. "Aristos was very dynamic, very lively, loved airplanes, machines, music, family and his friends," he added.

 Source: Gulf News