All 233 people have survived after a Ural Airlines Airbus A321 was forced to make an emergency landing in a corn field when both engines failed shortly after takeoff.
Flight U6 178, operated by A321 VQ-BOZ, had just taken off from Moscow’s Zhukovsky airport bound for Simferopol in the Ukraine on Thursday (local time) when the aircraft flew through a flock of birds at about 750ft and ingested birds in both engines.
“Both engines failed, one emitting noises as if the engine spools up and down, forcing the crew to stop the climb at 750 feet and land the aircraft in a corn field about 2.77nm past the runway with gear retracted,” The Aviation Herald report said.
“The occupants of the aircraft evacuated via slides, there were 10 injuries (including three children). The aircraft sustained substantial damage.”
Ural Airlines, which is based in the Russian Federation, said on social media the aircraft suffered a bird strike on departure and confirmed all passengers and crew had survived the incident, according to a translation of a post from its Twitter account.
На рейсе U6178 Жуковский-Симферополь при вылете из Жуковского произошло многочисленное попадание птиц в двигатели самолета. Самолет совершил вынужденную посадку. Пассажиры и экипаж не пострадали. pic.twitter.com/bA2VWvN5c2
— УРАЛЬСКИЕ АВИАЛИНИИ (@Ural_Air_Lines) August 15, 2019
The incident is reminiscent of US Airways flight US 1549 in 2009, which landed on New York’s Hudson River after suffering a double engine failure shortly after takeoff due to birdstrike. All 155 passengers and crew were rescued. The incident was later made into a motion picture starring Tom Hanks.
VIDEO: A passenger video of the landing from Denis Gavrus‘ YouTube channel.
Reproduced below and with minimal editing is part of The Aviation Herald’s report.
“Russia’s Emergency Ministry reported 226 passengers including six children and seven crew were on board, all evacuated. Ten passengers including three children needed medical attention.
“The aircraft was found outside the airport, the right hand engine was smoking but no fires, no fuel leaking, the cabin was inspected for people inside, the engines were sprayed for cooling. Eight busses were deployed to the accident site to return the passengers to Zhukovsky Airport.
“Russia’s Ministry of Transport reported the aircraft suffered a bird strike into both engines while flying through a flock of sea gulls and landed in a field more than 1km from the airport. The aircraft landed gear up, the crew shut both engines down just prior to landing.
“A special commission was set up to investigate the accident. The cause of the forced landing was the failure of the right hand engine, that caught fire following a bird strike.
“The flight crew told Russian media the problem began right after takeoff when a bird hit the left hand engine causing it to fail completely, shortly followed by another bird strike into the right hand engine which subsequently provided insufficient thrust to remain airborne. The captain took control and landed the aircraft in an open field.”
VIDEO: An aerial look at the accident site from The Aviation Herald’s YouTube channel.
More information about the incident can be found on The Aviation Herald website.
