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Burn marks on the fuselage, but there was no fire
Photo: Alexey Malgavko / REUTERS
Due to technical problems, a Russian passenger plane with 167 people on board apparently made an emergency landing in a field in the Siberian region of Novosibirsk. No one was seriously injured, Russian news agencies report, citing the regional civil defense. The occupants of the aircraft, including 23 children, were accommodated in the nearest village, according to the Russian aviation authority.
The aircraft of the type Airbus A320 of the airline Ural Airlines had been on the flight from Sochi on the Black Sea to Omsk in Siberia.
The machine had problems with the hydraulics, said the governor of the Omsk region, Vitaly Khotsenko, according to the state news agency Tass. According to Ural Airlines, the pilot reported the emergency during the flight and headed for the better-equipped Novosibirsk airport instead of Omsk. However, the fuel was not enough for this, so that the machine finally landed on a large wheat field with the landing gear extended.
At the same time, the hull remained whole, there was no fire; and the 161 passengers and six crew members were able to leave the plane. Only a handful of people had turned to the paramedics for minor injuries, it said. Footage released by the Emergencies Ministry shows a landed plane with visible emergency slides. In addition, one-sided traces of fire could be seen on the fuselage.
Despite the mild outcome, the accident raises questions about the safety of flying in Russia. Because of Moscow's war against Ukraine, manufacturers such as Airbus and Boeing are no longer supplying Russian aircraft with spare parts – it is one of the most effective international sanctions. Russian airlines are forced to procure parts on a grey import market or to use their own machines as spare parts warehouses.
SWE/DPA