A nerve-wracking flight passed over passengers of S7 Airlines or its official name Siberia Airlines. A series of malfunctions caused the pilots to lose control of the plane, the captain declared a state of emergency and asked to land immediately but was forced to stay in the air for close to five and a half hours. Before we dive into the breathtaking details we are told that the plane landed safely.
It all started on Thursday night, around 10pm (local time). The place: Magdan-Sokol International Airport, located about 50 km north of the center of Magdan in the Russian Far East, an area where the weather is particularly cold, minus 24 degrees, to be exact, with snow and winds at a speed of 27 km / h and gusts coming To 47 km / h.
The S7 Airbus A321 is preparing for takeoff with about 200 passengers and crew on board. During the operation of flights in freezing weather, we will explain, the ground services at the airport perform a de-ice removal procedure with an emphasis on the wings and the steering areas in the air. During the same procedure a material is used that provides protection to those surfaces from baldness in the early stages of flight and climbing, to help the aircraft get out of the frozen area safely.
S7 baldness removal procedure for S7 aircraft (Photo: shutterstock)Flight S75220 finishes the preparations but leaves about an hour and a half late. Destination: the city of Novosibirsk in southwestern Siberia, a distance of about five hours flight. A few minutes after takeoff the troubles begin. The autopilot disconnects for no apparent reason and at the same time a series of malfunctions occur in various electronic systems in the aircraft. The result: the pilots lose control of the plane which begins to lose altitude. The pilots report malfunctions to the airport control tower from which they took off and plan to turn around and land there. But it turns out that this is not an easy task.
“Five minutes after take-off, we felt the plane begin to lose altitude sharply,” one of the passengers told the British Daily Mail after landing. “We flew up and down inside the plane. We literally clung to a chair and immediately afterwards almost hovered as if there was no gravity (an effect that occurs when the plane drops sharply at a certain angle. “The wings, the noise in the fuselage, the horrible noise of the wind, the loud engine noise, bags falling from above – it was a horror movie.”
The pilots begin to fly in circles near the field and at the same time the plane loses altitude, sometimes sharply, and climbs again. The plane is covered in ice, both in the wings and in the engines, which affects its performance and probably causes disruptions in the various flight and steering systems. The lights on the plane were reportedly turned off and on intermittently. The crew of the plane twice tries to approach the landing but without success, the plane is too heavy and with a lot of fuel, they have no choice but to stay in the air to lose weight.
The nightmare flight path of S7 Airlines in Siberia (Flightradar24)According to Russian media reports, in a recording between the cockpit and the control tower, the pilot was heard saying: “Instant! Instant! We can not control the aircraft. We are unable to stabilize the aircraft, there are very strong winds here.”
This model plane cannot be thrown fuel into the air to lose weight, so the pilots decide to fly it to Irkutsk International Airport near Lake Baikal in Siberia to burn fuel and lose weight. After about an hour of struggling with the plane in extreme weather conditions the pilots manage to stabilize and take control of the plane and begin a very moderate climb towards a cruising altitude of 32,000 feet.
On the way to the new destination the pilots are considering landing at Platon Oyonsky International Airport in Yakutsk, but decide to give up due to extreme temperatures – minus 30 degrees – prevailing there. They then continue to Irkutsk airport, where the weather is more comfortable and the temperature is only minus one degree. After about four and a half hours of flying in control – and five and a half hours in total in the air – they land there safely.
The passengers, including 25 children, applaud happily. “People cried and started praying in the air,” said one of the passengers who recounted the moments of horror. “One passenger hugged her husband and started saying goodbye to him, convinced they were going to die.”
Right: The field where the plane landed. Left: The field where the plane was supposed to land (Flightradar24)The airline issued a press release stating: “During flight S75220 from Megiddo to Novosibirsk, the aircraft entered an extreme stagnation zone, causing the autopilot system to disengage. It could also be on the ground and not just in the air. ”
According to media reports, police were called to check how the anti-ice process was carried out on the plane, to check if it was sloppy or even malicious. Russian aviation authorities are also investigating the case.