A Russian passenger plane with 170 people on board made a successful wheels-down emergency landing in a field on Tuesday and no one was seriously injured.authorities said.
He Airbus A320 of Ural Airlines was flying from the Black Sea town of Sochi to Omsk in eastern Siberia when the crew reported a problem with the hydraulic system and requested permission to land at Tolmachevo airport in Novosibirsk, which has one runway longer.
Russian airlines face a maintenance problem for their Airbus and Boeing aircraft due to a lack of spare parts caused by Western sanctions following the offensive in Ukraine.
“At 05:44 Moscow time (02:44 GMT), an unscheduled landing of a Ural Airlines A320 aircraft flying along the Sochi-Omsk route was successfully carried out.”said the Russian aviation agency Rosaviatsia.
It took place “at a location selected from the air” near the village of Kamenka in the Siberian region of Novosibirsk.
“All passengers are accommodated in the nearest town”the agency said, adding that none of them sought medical help.
Ural Airlines CEO Sergei Skuratov said the pilots later realized they did not have enough fuel to fly and decided to land in a field about 200 kilometers west of Novosibirsk.
The authorities said that no one was hurtbut two passengers required medical attention for hypertension and several others were examined for small bruises.
Russian media published images of a plane parked in a field with no visible signs of damage, and quoted passengers praising the crew’s skill and composure.
The plane’s captain, Sergei Belov, 32, is the son and grandson of pilots. Russian prosecutors launched an investigation into the emergency landing.
Skuratov rejected accusations that it was due to poor aircraft maintenance amid sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies.
The investigative committee, which investigates serious cases, opened a criminal case for violation of air traffic safety rules.
Investigators said the plane made the emergency landing “for a technical reason.”
The sanctions banned the transfer of aircraft parts from the West, among other restrictions. The head of Ural Airlines insisted that the company has maintained the safety of its fleet despite the sanctions.
In 2019, an A321 also belonging to Ural Airlines made an emergency landing in a field near Moscow after striking birds during takeoff, injuring 74 of the 233 people on board. The crew received state awards.
(With information from AP and AFP)
Source-www.infobae.com