A Russian airliner with 170 onboard was compelled to make an emergency landing in a field after experiencing a hydraulics failure. Notably, no injuries were reported in the aftermath of the incident, leaving the Ural Airlines Airbus A320 deserted next to a Siberian forest, specifically within the boundary of the Novosibirsk region.
The airline reported that the landing site was specifically chosen post the hydraulic system’s failure during the jet’s approach to Omsk. The unforeseen event sparked rebuts from the airline, refuting allegations of their incapacity to maintain its aircraft due to sanctions imposed on Russia.
Visuals from the scene portrayed the marooned plane in a cornfield, with the emergency exits ajar and ramps descended, while spectators encircled the area. A demonstration on social media showcased how a heavy-duty digger disassembled the aircraft, severing the cockpit, tail, and wings to simplify its extraction from the field.
Rosaviatsia, the aviation agency of Russia, remarked that the unscheduled landing occurred in the wee hours of Tuesday. The site had been zeroed in from the air, in close proximity to the Kamenka village. No passengers needed medical assistance post the event, supplementing the agency’s statement. Investigations regarding the emergency landing were underway, with the crew being side-lined until the conclusion of the inquiry, as per Ural Airlines.
Sergei Skuratov, head of Ural Airlines, attributed the incident to the failure of a hydraulic system on board the plane, while in transit from Sochi to Omsk. He refuted allegations that a fire outbreak was the cause, attributing the supposed scorch marks above a wing, evident in some social media pictures, to mere dirt.
While catastrophic malfunction of a plane’s hydraulic systems can lead to loss of flight control, Russian aviation connoisseurs vouched for the presence of back-up systems and challenged the crew’s landing decision. Andrei Litvinov, an experienced pilot, disputed the need for a field landing, stating it put lives both onboard and on the ground at risk.
Amid the current atmosphere where Russian airlines are struggling to procure spare parts as a ripple effect of Western sanctions on Moscow due to conflicts in Ukraine, Ural Airlines maintains adherence to the use of genuine parts in their aircraft, as per Mr. Skuratov.
The accident-struck A320, data reports suggest, is approximately 20 years old and was certified for airworthiness till the end of the upcoming year. There have been cases in the past, as documented by Reuters, where Ural airlines and other Russian airlines managed to sidestep Western sanctions with the help of intermediaries in countries like China and UAE, which are not compliant with such restrictions.
Ural Airlines had previously experienced a similar calamity in 2019 when an Airbus A321 was forced to land in a field outside of Moscow after a collision with gulls during take-off. This incident, widely termed as the “miracle over Ramensk” by Russian media, resulted in 70 injuries amongst the 230 aboard. The crew members of the flight were later recognized with state awards.
