https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-49355236
A Russian passenger plane has made an emergency landing in a cornfield near Moscow after striking a flock of birds.
At least 74 people were injured in the incident, which saw the plane land with its engines off and landing gear retracted, emergency officials said.
[...] The Kremlin on Thursday hailed the pilots as heroes for "saving people's lives and landing the plane". A spokesman said they would receive state awards soon.
The airline said the plane was significantly damaged and would not fly again. An official investigation is under way.
[...] The plane had more than 230 passengers and crew on board when the birds were reportedly sucked into its engines and the crew immediately decided to land.
[...] Collisions between birds and planes are a common occurrence in aviation, with thousands reported every year in the US alone. However, they rarely result in accidents or cause damage to the aircraft.
Flight is U6178 Moscow-Simferopol, plane was VQ-BOZ.
Reports say one engine was out and the other was badly damaged so the crew shut it off. But on this video I can hear some engine noise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f893GhbiBA
Glide-landing 7 crew, 226 passengers, and ~6 tons of jet fuel safely in a corn field is undoubtedly an achievement.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by mordac on Friday August 16 2019, @11:20AM (3 children)
The engine noise will be the ram air turbine? It's what powers the hydraulics in an emergency when the engines are off.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 16 2019, @11:33AM
Ought to be the APU, yes. No thrust (or at least nothing worth mentioning) but it supplies the needed power for hydraulics, lights and stuff.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by VLM on Friday August 16 2019, @01:25PM (1 child)
Each euro Airbus 320 series has a Honeywell APU as standard equipment to run the hydraulics.
The RAT deploys automatically when electrical power is lost.
Probably, when the engines blew up the RAT deployed, then a couple seconds later the APU fired up.
(Score: 3, Informative) by legont on Friday August 16 2019, @08:48PM
If I am to believe the unofficial reports, the crew shut off both engines to prevent them from blowing up. They also decided to land on the belly without landing gear given the type of the field ahead.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Friday August 16 2019, @11:29AM (14 children)
But, one must ask, what use is landing gear in a cornfield? You are going to slow down, in any case.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by pkrasimirov on Friday August 16 2019, @11:46AM
It was the right decision. In this drone footage you can see the actual landing distance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KedQRSa4sew [youtube.com]
The corn field really helped, provided the fuel did not ignite.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by c0lo on Friday August 16 2019, @12:27PM (6 children)
Just in case you feel the need to stick the landing gear into soft soil, either taking a tumble due the abruptness of the stop or otherwise sending fragments of the landing gear at high speed through your fuel tanks.
You know? Adrenaline junkies, suicidal maniacs, sociopathic TV-crews [wikipedia.org] and all that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0
(Score: 2) by Username on Friday August 16 2019, @12:56PM (5 children)
On the other hand, landing in dirt and grass is common, and a similar dual engine failure happened to TACA Flight 110 which was able to land, gear down, on a dirt levee without any damage. The plane even took right back off after engine repair.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday August 16 2019, @01:54PM (3 children)
Well, yeah.
Every now and then a novice pilot fails to transform his plane into a fireball. But those events are rare enough (very... large... grin...)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 16 2019, @02:44PM (2 children)
do you have to end every single fucking post with a sarcastic shadenfreude rictus
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday August 16 2019, @03:11PM (1 child)
Only when I intend the fucking post marked with a sarcastic shadenfreude rictus to be taken as a joke.
If I manage to project a sense of black humor and cynical attitude to the audience, I managed in my intention.
If not, well... I fall back in reminding myself that not everybody in this world can be full-witted (grin)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 16 2019, @10:13PM
I'm not a nihilist I'm just full-witted!
(Score: 5, Informative) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Friday August 16 2019, @02:25PM
The key being "dirt levee", as in the ground was compacted, reasonably level, and ended up taking the weight of the plane distributed on the gears. Same story for dirt and grass landing fields (although there are reasons why 737's don't normally land on grass landing fields). One has to fly the conditions one finds and use the superior pilot's judgment to determine what one does, which doesn't change the general principle of better-to-skid-than-flip. But if you read the Wikipedia on TACA 110 they were prepared to water ditch gear-up but then spotted the levee, "The aircraft was towed from the levee to the nearby NASA facility [Michoud], fueled to the minimum amount needed and departed from Saturn Boulevard, a roadway built atop the original World War II-era runway."
This sig for rent.
(Score: 2) by deadstick on Friday August 16 2019, @12:40PM
"what use is landing gear in a cornfield"
Basically none. In a smaller airplane, you'd go ass over teakettle. In an Airbus, it would dig in and drastically increase the deceleration.
(Score: 4, Informative) by DutchUncle on Friday August 16 2019, @12:58PM (3 children)
Exactly. The landing gear would only have gotten stuck, snapped off, and the open doors would have been even worse. The smooth bottom of the plane (relatively smooth) along the nice crushable plants (better than freshly plowed earth and rocks) was the best call. Makes me wonder if the pilot was ex-Navy.
(Score: 2) by VLM on Friday August 16 2019, @01:29PM (1 child)
My guess without a map is we're missing the time factor.
We always have an emergency airport kinda in mind or at least a vague plan ... Engines blow up, lets land at the nearest airport, no idea if hydraulics are leaking so pop the gear immediately while we still can ... time passes ... Whoops.jpg we're way too far from the nearest airport so we'll land in this nice farm field...
(Score: 3, Informative) by legont on Friday August 16 2019, @08:59PM
It was still above the runway when the birds went into the left engine. So, it seems the pilots intentionally retracted gear before the emergency landing.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Saturday August 17 2019, @03:15AM
After watching the videos... I'm impressed. That was a pretty durn soft landing, all things considered.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 16 2019, @08:01PM
Poor corn. Just doing it's corny thing and BLAMO...total annihilation, decimation and destruction.
Also, no one ever says if the farmer gets reimbursed by the airlines for crashing in their field wiping all their hard work out. Inquiring minds want to know!
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 16 2019, @12:59PM (5 children)
Is it possible the russians are responsible for this? Whatever happened to that space station sabotage?
(Score: 2) by pkrasimirov on Friday August 16 2019, @01:57PM (3 children)
Russians sabotoge themselves? Risking their 233 people and ruining the mighty expensive aircraft? And then the pilots are set for medals because... the sabotage failed? Or do you mean it wend all as planned? I am really trying to get your picture here...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 16 2019, @02:36PM
They possibly did it to take some of the heat off Trump.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday August 16 2019, @02:36PM
What caliber [lexico.com] are those awards?
Young people won't believe you if you say you used to get Netflix by US Postal Mail.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 16 2019, @11:54PM
If I remember right, it wasn't all that long ago we had to land one of ours in the Hudson River.
You do what you gotta do with the cards you are dealt.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 16 2019, @10:15PM
Possible? Just logically it is the only answer. Of course it might have been Trump trying to dislodge his jaw from Putin's cock, the plane was just a metaphor you see?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 16 2019, @03:05PM (2 children)
That ITU prefix is assigned to the UK. Was the plane registered there?
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Friday August 16 2019, @07:03PM (1 child)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 17 2019, @12:29AM
According to another list, VQ-B is a prefix for Bermuda.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 16 2019, @04:56PM (5 children)
why can't scientists figure out a way to warn the birds that a bird sucking death machine is hauling ass towards them? If an audible warning from behind would work, that would be nice. Just like you'll never hit a deer on country highways at night if you just roll down your windows and crank the stereo up. they will hear you coming and stay out of the way. i used to haul ass through arkansas in the middle of the night and i never even came close to hitting a deer and they were everywhere.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 16 2019, @10:18PM
If the sound of approaching thunder doesn't do it I imagine by the time any other noise maker got close enough the birds wouldn't have much time to react or even tell where the sound was coming from before getting run over at 800kph.
(Score: 2) by inertnet on Friday August 16 2019, @10:21PM (1 child)
Here in Europe in some places they've placed "animal reflectors" on the side of roads, which cause your head lights to create some disco effect. Here's a page [wikipedia.org] in German, it seems to work more or less.
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Saturday August 17 2019, @03:29AM
If we go out at night and flash lights at deer, they freeze up and we get dinged for illegal hunting methods. I wonder if all it does is freeze 'em up a little sooner so the dumb fucks don't run out on the road first.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Saturday August 17 2019, @03:21AM
Try that on Hwy 93 near Hamilton, MT. Last official report I heard, that stretch was averaging about 280 deer hit per DAY. Needless to say it keeps the body shops busy. You'd think the road noise would provide a clue, but deer are dumb.
"I drive Hwy 93. Pray for me." -- MT state highway patrol bumper sticker, 1960s
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 2) by Pslytely Psycho on Saturday August 17 2019, @05:50AM
"why can't scientists figure out a way to warn the birds that a bird sucking death machine is hauling ass towards them? "
Simple. Because their birdbrains!
OK, I'm going home now......
Alex Jones lawyer inspires new TV series: CSI Moron Division.
(Score: 4, Informative) by inertnet on Friday August 16 2019, @10:29PM (1 child)
The pilot received the highest Russian medal, the Hero of Russia [foxnews.com]
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Saturday August 17 2019, @03:23AM
Good. He definitely earned it.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.