A Russian airliner bound from southern Siberia to the region's north “lost” one of its landing gears during takeoff and had to make an emergency landing, the TASS news agency reported Wednesday, citing airport and emergency officials.
The Yamal carrier's flight from Tyumen to Novy Urengoi landed without further incident at the airport of its departure, after cruising above the city to use up fuel, the report said. It had 148 passengers and seven crew members on board, the report said.
The Investigative Committee is looking into what caused the Boeing 737-400 to “lose” its landing gear, a spokesperson was quoted as saying.
No injuries were reported, but psychologists were counseling the flight's passengers, an Emergency Situations Ministry spokesperson said, TASS reported.
The incident was one of at least two emergency landings by Russian passenger planes reported early Wednesday.
In the second case, an airliner bound from Moscow to the Far East city of Khabarovsk made an emergency landing in Siberia after an onboard smoke detector indicated fumes, an Emergency Situations Ministry spokesman was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.
The Ikar flight with 93 passengers and 10 crew members on board landed without incident in Irkutsk — some 2,300 kilometers to its destination, and more than 8,000 kilometers from Moscow — ministry spokesman Andrei Shutov was quoted as saying.
Technicians were inspecting the airplane, the report said.
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