Novosibirsk, Siberia – A Russian airliner carrying 170 passengers was compelled to make an emergency landing in a corn field in Siberia’s Novosibirsk region after experiencing a hydraulics failure. Remarkably, no injuries were reported in the dramatic incident that left the Ural Airlines Airbus A320 stranded near a forest.
The airline stated that the pilot made a strategic decision to select the landing site after the aircraft’s hydraulic systems failed while approaching Omsk. The emergency landing has prompted a flurry of responses, including denials from the airline regarding any inability to service its planes due to sanctions on Russia.
Images captured at the scene depicted the aircraft situated in a cornfield with emergency doors open and ramps extended, while passengers and onlookers gathered nearby. A video shared on social media showcased heavy machinery disassembling the plane, removing its cockpit, tail, and wings to facilitate its extraction from the field.
Russia’s aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, reported that the “unscheduled landing” occurred in the early hours of Tuesday and that the landing point was “selected from the air” near the village of Kamenka. Notably, none of the passengers required medical attention.
Rosaviatsia has initiated an investigation into the emergency landing, and Ural Airlines announced that the crew has been suspended pending the completion of the inquiry. Sergei Skuratov, the head of Ural Airlines, clarified that the hydraulic failure did not result in a fire, dispelling concerns raised by scorch marks above one of the wings seen in social media images, attributing them to dirt.
While a catastrophic failure of a plane’s hydraulic systems can lead to a loss of flight control, Russian aviation experts contested the crew’s decision to execute an emergency landing, emphasizing the presence of backup systems. Pilot Andrei Litvinov noted, “There are three hydraulic systems, one electric. There is no need to land the plane in a field,” expressing concerns about the safety of passengers and those on the ground.
This emergency landing unfolds in the context of Russian airlines facing challenges in acquiring spare parts due to Western sanctions linked to Russia’s actions in Ukraine. In March, Ural Airlines had expressed concerns about the availability of parts, but Mr. Skuratov affirmed that all his airline’s planes were serviced with genuine, certified parts.
Reports indicated that the crashed A320 was approximately 20 years old and possessed an airworthiness certificate valid until the end of the next year. Russian airlines have, in some instances, managed to bypass Western sanctions using intermediaries in countries like China and the UAE, which do not support the restrictions.
This incident brings to mind a similar emergency in 2019 when a Ural Airlines Airbus A321 made a miraculous emergency landing in a field near Moscow after being struck by gulls during take-off. The crew received state awards for their heroics in what Russian media dubbed the “miracle over Ramensk.”
