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pkrasimirov [soylentnews.org] writes:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-49355236 [bbc.co.uk]

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.

Flight is U6178 [flightradar24.com] Moscow-Simferopol, plane was VQ-BOZ [flightradar24.com].

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 [youtube.com]

Glide-landing 7 crew, 226 passengers, and ~6 tons of jet fuel safely in a corn field is undoubtedly an achievement.

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