Recently, a plane belonging to a Russian airline company made an emergency landing in a field. So what was the possible indirect reason for this forced landing? Can passenger planes, which generally make very soft landings on specially constructed runways at airports, land somewhere other than the runway? Let’s take a closer look at the details of this issue.
Russian Ural Airlines plane landed in a wheat field!
The 19-year-old Airbus A320 model aircraft of Russian Ural Airlines, with tail registration RA-73805, flying from Sochi to Omsk, encountered a hydraulic system failure during the flight. The plane, which suffered a fatal malfunction, was diverted to the Novosibirsk region of Siberia due to the short Omsk Airport runway.
But while the plane was still heading towards its new route, the pilots declared an emergency. Then, the pilots decided to land the plane in a suitable field before reaching the designated airport, as its fuel was at a critical level.
The pilots, who controlled the plane in an emergency situation, made an emergency landing in a wheat field they saw, approximately 180 km away from the city of Novosibirsk, with 159 passengers and 7 crew members. While it was stated that there were no injuries or deaths after the landing, some damage occurred to the wings and landing gear of the plane due to its unusual landing on the ground.
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However, the general structure of the plane did not fall apart, it landed as a whole – in other words – in one piece and safely. Details regarding this incident will come to light in the future, as investigators who are experts on the subject conclude their investigations.
An interesting coincidence regarding the incident did not go unnoticed. An Airbus A321 plane of Russian Ural Airlines ran into a flock of birds while taking off from Moscow in August 2019, and both engines of the plane became ineffective. In this incident, the cockpit crew successfully landed the plane in a corn field.
Due to such incidents, the question may arise as to how correct or possible it is for planes to land at a location other than the runway. As we saw in the latest Ural Airlines case, planes can land in such places with piloting skills in emergency situations.
However, in emergency situations, such an event is one of the least likely among many different scenarios and backup routes or flight plans. However, if necessary in a scenario such as the aircraft experiencing a fatal malfunction and the systems that will affect the basic flight dynamics becoming ineffective, pilots can make such a decision for the safety of the aircraft and passengers.
So much so that US Airways’ Airbus 320 series passenger plane, Flight 1549, which was the subject of a movie in 2009, crashed into a flock of geese shortly after takeoff and lost both engines. With no source of thrust left in the air, the plane began to glide like a glider.
The captain of the plane, Chesley Sullenberger, and the co-pilot made a critical decision and directed the plane towards the Hudson River, and with great piloting skills, they managed to land the Airbus A320 plane carrying 155 passengers safely in the Hudson River, somewhere between Manhattan and New Jersey.
As a result of the investigations of this incident, which had a wide repercussion in the field of aviation, the cockpit crew was declared heroes. As can be seen from this incident, planes do not easily land at a location other than the runway. For the situation to reach this level, all the backup systems and various flight plans specific to that voyage must be insufficient. Additionally, as reflected in the US Airways incident, pilots receive special training for many possible emergencies.
The indirect reason for landing in the field may be war!
Russian aviation has been affected by the sanctions imposed by many western states with the beginning of the Ukraine crisis. Russian companies, which have difficulties in the supply of spare parts required for the maintenance of aircraft, are trying interesting and risky solutions. One of these was that a different Russian airline company recently decided to use some of its planes without brakes.
One of the main conditions for airplanes to fly safely is that their maintenance is carried out in accordance with the relevant procedures and with a quality service. The Russians, who have been faced with serious problems in the maintenance of aircraft, especially spare parts, since the outbreak of the war, went as far as dismantling some aircraft and attaching their parts to other aircraft.
When viewed from this perspective, it may come to mind as a possible thought that the reason why the Ural Airlines plane, which landed in the field as a result of a malfunction, experienced this situation may be a lack of maintenance and that the Russia-Ukraine war indirectly paved the way for this situation.
What do you think about this issue? What do you think is the reason for the incident? You can share your thoughts and opinions with us in the comments section.