Aircraft

Seventy-two passengers on board a Russian-operated Tupolev Tu-154 have escaped injury after the tri-jet sustained damage after overrunning a short runway during an emergency landing.

The accident involved a Tu-154 from the carrier Alrosa which had departed on 7 September as domestic flight 516, from the airport at Polyarny, in Yakutia, bound for Moscow Domodedovo.

Russia's transport oversight authority Rostransnadzor says that, according to the crew, the aircraft carried out the emergency landing after a power failure.

It diverted to Izhma, in the Komi republic in northwestern Russia, at around 10:10 local time.

But Izhma's runway is only around 1,300m long and the aircraft overran, carving its way through surrounding vegetation before coming to rest, embedded in soft ground, with damage at least to the leading edge of its wings.

Images from the scene identify the aircraft as being registered RA-85684 and, in addition to the damage, show the Tu-154's thrust reversers deployed. The aircraft was transporting 72 passengers, says Rostransnadzor, plus nine crew members but none was injured.

After the accident Mirny-based Alrosa said it planned to transfer the passengers in four Mil Mi-8 helicopters to the airport at Ukhta and send another company Tu-154 to take them to Moscow.

Russia's emergencies ministry states that the nine crew members remained in Ukhta pending further investigation into the accident. Local media reports indicate that the aircraft is unlikely to be flown out of Izhma because the runway is too short.

© Rolf Keller