MOSCOW: A Russian passenger Airbus A320 flying from the Black Sea resort of Sochi to the Siberian city of Omsk made an emergency landing in a field on Tuesday, officials said.
A total of 170 people including 23 children were on board, domestic carrier Ural Airlines said.
Russia’s aviation sector has been hard hit by Western sanctions over Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine and struggling to get new parts to repair planes.
Authorities released footage of the plane in a field next to a forest in the Novosibirsk region, saying there were no casualties.
The slides were out and people stood on the field.
“At 05:44 Moscow time (0244 GMT) an unscheduled landing of a Ural Airlines A320 plane flying along the Sochi-Omsk route, was successfully carried out,“ Russia’s aviation agency Rosaviatsia said.
It took place “on a site selected from the air” near the village of Kamenka in Siberia’s Novosibirsk region.
“All passengers are housed in the nearest village,“ the agency said, adding that none of them sought medical help.
The head of Ural Airlines, Sergei Skuratov, told reporters that one of the plane’s hydraulic systems failed as the airliner was approaching Omsk.
The Investigative Committee, which probes serious cases, opened a criminal case into the violation of air traffic safety rules.
Investigators said the aircraft made the emergency landing “for a technical reason.” -AFP
