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Ural Airlines Flight 178 was a scheduled passenger flight from Moscow–Zhukovsky to Simferopol, Crimea. On 15 August 2019, an Airbus A321 operating the flight suffered a bird strike after taking off from Zhukovsky and crash landed in a cornfield, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi; 2.7 nmi) past the airport. All on board survived; 74 people sustained injuries, but none were severe.
.jpg) VQ-BOZ, the aircraft involved in the accident, seen in 2013 | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 15 August 2019 |
| Summary | Crash-landed following bird strike resulting in dual engine failure |
| Site | Near Zhukovsky International Airport, Moscow, Russia 55°30′43″N 38°15′07″E / 55.512°N 38.252°E |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Airbus A321-211 |
| Operator | Ural Airlines |
| IATA flight No. | U6178 |
| Call sign | SVERDLOVSK AIR 178 |
| Registration | VQ-BOZ |
| Flight origin | Zhukovsky International Airport, Moscow, Russia |
| Destination | Simferopol International Airport, Simferopol, Crimea |
| Occupants | 233 |
| Passengers | 226 |
| Crew | 7 |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 74 |
| Survivors | 233 (all) |
Aircraft
The aircraft was an Airbus A321-211, registered in Bermuda as VQ-BOZ, msn 2117. It was built in 2003 for MyTravel Airways (as G-OMYA), who decided not to accept it; it was then transferred to Cyprus Turkish Airlines as TC-KTD. It then operated for AtlasGlobal as TC-ETR in 2010, and Solaris Airlines in 2011 as EI-ERU before being delivered to Ural Airlines in 2011 as VQ-BOZ.[1][2][3] The aircraft was damaged beyond repair in the accident.[4]
Flight crew
The pilot in command was 41-year-old Damir Yusupov who graduated from the Buguruslan Flight School of Civil Aviation, in Buguruslan, Russia, in 2013. He has also received a degree in Air Navigation from the Ulyanovsk Institute of Civil Aviation, in Ulyanovsk, Russia. At the time of the accident, he had over 3,000 hours of flight time.[5]
The co-pilot was 23-year-old Georgy Murzin who also graduated from the Buguruslan Flight School of Civil Aviation in 2017.[6] At the time of the accident, he had over 600 hours of flight time.[5]
There were five flight attendants on board.
Accident
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 Footage shortly after takeoff | |
| Footage during landing | |
| Aerial footage of landing area | |
| Footage of the landing site and plane shot by a passenger after landing |
The aircraft suffered a bird strike shortly after takeoff from Zhukovsky International Airport, Moscow, Russia, bound for Simferopol International Airport, Simferopol, Crimea.[1] A passenger recorded the plane's descent into a cornfield after a flock of gulls struck both CFM56-5 engines.[7] The first bird strike caused a complete loss of power in the left engine. A second bird strike led to the right engine producing insufficient thrust to maintain flight.[4]
The pilots Damir Yusupov and Georgy Murzin decided to turn off both engines and opted to make an emergency landing in a cornfield near the airport runway.[8] The aircraft made a hard landing in the cornfield 2.8 nautical miles (5.2 km) from Zhukovsky International Airport.[4] The pilot chose not to lower the landing gear in order to skid more effectively over the corn.[9]
Everyone on board the flight survived.[7] There have been differing reports on the number of injuries sustained as the criteria for counting a person as "injured" are not overly strict. According to some reports, 55 people received medical attention at the scene. 29 people were taken to hospital, of whom 23 were injured. Six people were admitted as in-patients.[10][11][12] Finally, the number of injuries was fixed at 74, none of whom were severely injured.[13] All injured passengers were offered 100,000 ₽ (US$1,358) as accident compensation.[14]
Amplicated proliferation of birds near airport
The amplification of the proliferation of birds near Moscow–Zhukovsky is attributed to illegal waste dumps.[15] The deployed countermeasure systems are overwhelmed and insufficient.[16] As far back as 2012 the management of one of the waste sites had been sued in Zhukovsky district court, alleging that "the waste sorting facilities attract massive numbers of birds due to significant content of edible refuse, and with the site located at the distance of 2 km (1.2 mi; 1.1 nmi) from the airport runway this could lead to collisions between birds and aircraft, threatening human life and limb". The court did not find sufficient grounds to rule in favor of plaintiffs and their demands to enjoin the defendants from sorting or storing household waste at the specified site.[17]
As of 2019, this site is no longer sorting or storing household waste, instead compacting it and transferring it further for disposal; the operations, however, are conducted outdoors.[15]
A Zhukovsky air traffic controller declared:[16]
We issue warnings to every departing aircraft. The birds come to sit on the runway — there's the river and the dump nearby, so they're here constantly.
Investigation
The Interstate Aviation Committee (Template:Lang-ru, МАК) opened an investigation into the accident. The investigation is being assisted by Rosaviatsa, the British Air Accidents Investigation Branch, and the French Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile. The cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder were both successfully recovered and their data downloaded.[4]
Reactions
Shortly after the accident, Ural Airlines released a statement on Twitter stating: "Flight U6178 Zhukovsky-Simferopol on departure from Zhukovsky sustained multiple bird strikes to the aircraft engines. The aircraft made an emergency landing. There were no injuries to the passengers and crew."[18] The airline praised the professionalism of the pilots.[12]
The pilot in command, Damir Yusupov, and first officer, Georgy Murzin, were awarded the honorary title of Hero of the Russian Federation; the other crew members were decorated with the Order of Courage.[19]
See also
- US Airways Flight 1549 – 2009 accident after both engines failed following a bird strike shortly after takeoff
- Scandinavian Airlines Flight 751 - 1991 accident after both engines failed following ice ingestion shortly after takeoff
- Ethiopian Airlines Flight 604 – 1988 accident after both engines failed following a bird strike shortly after takeoff
- Eastern Air Lines Flight 375 – 1960 accident after the aircraft suffered a bird strike shortly after takeoff
References
- ^ a b "VQ-BOZ accident details". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
- ^ "Ural Airlines VQ-BOZ (Airbus A321 - MSN 2117) (Ex TC-ETR TC-KTD ) | Airfleets aviation". www.airfleets.net. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
- ^ "VQ-BOZ Ural Airlines Airbus A321-200". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
- ^ a b c d Hradecky, Simon. "Accident: Ural A321 at Moscow on Aug 15th 2019, bird strike into both engines forces landing in corn field". Aviation Herald. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
- ^ a b ""Они каждый у меня — граненый бриллиант". Об экипаже, сумевшем спасти сотни жизней". ТАСС (in Russian). Retrieved 2019-08-19.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ "Выпускники Бугурусланского лётного училища стали героями «второго чуда на Гудзоне»". orenburzhie.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2019-08-19.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ a b Cole, Brendan. "Russian Plane With 234 People On Board Crash-lands in Cornfield After Birds Fly Into Engine Causing Fire, 23 Injured". Newsweek. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
- ^ Nowack, Timo. "A321 von Ural Airlines landet in Maisfeld" [A321 of Ural Airlies lands in cornfield] (in German). Aerotelegraph. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
- ^ "Ural Airlines A321 Bird Strikes Into Both Engines on Departure". samchui.com. 15 August 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
- ^ "Russia bird strike: 23 injured after plane hits gulls and crash-lands". BBC News Online. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
- ^ "Passengers injured in emergency landing after Russian jet hits birds". CBS News. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
- ^ a b Fox, Kara. "Russian jet crash-lands in field outside Moscow after striking flock of gulls". CNN. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
- ^ Число пострадавших при посадке A321 в поле возросло до 74 человек (The number of injuries during the landing of A321 in the field reached 74) 15 August 2019 ria.ru, accessed 19 August 2019
- ^ "Заявление на получение компенсации пассажирам рейса U6 178 Жуковский-Симферополь". www.uralairlines.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2019-08-19.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ a b "Свалки и стаи птиц: что показала проверка территории вокруг аэродрома Жуковского" [Landfills and flocks of birds: as shown by a check of the territory around the Zhukovsky airfield] (in Russian). Retrieved 2019-08-18.
- ^ a b "Как владельцы свалок у аэропорта Жуковский связаны с губернатором Подмосковья" [How landfill owners at Zhukovsky airport are connected with the governor of the Moscow region] (in Russian). 2019-08-15. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
- ^ "Легкая мишень для чаек" [Easy target for seagulls]. Новая газета (in Russian). 2019-08-17. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
- ^ @Ural_Air_Lines (15 August 2019). "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" [Flight U6178 Zhukovsky-Simferopol on departure from Zhukovsky sustained multiple bird strikes to the aircraft engines. The aircraft made an emergency landing. There were no injuries to the passengers and crew.] (Tweet) (in Russian) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Путин присвоил звания Героев России летчикам самолета, совершившего посадку под Жуковским" [Putin awarded the title of the Heros of Russia to the pilots landed the aircraft near Zhukovsky] (in Russian). TASS. 2019-08-16. Retrieved 2019-08-16.