The history of the civil aviation industry of the Soviet Union and later Russia recorded times when talented Russian pilots managed to miraculously escape aircraft in difficult situations.
The “Miracle on the Hudson ” was a highlight event in 2009, when an American pilot made a safe emergency landing on the Hudson River flowing through New York City.
In the history of the Soviet Union and later Russia also recorded similar miracles when talented Russian pilots miraculously escaped in difficult situations forced to make an emergency landing.
Miracle on the Neva . line
“ I was on the balcony and I saw people running to the Neva River. Something definitely happened. I was really surprised when I saw the Tupolev Tu-124 floating and the passengers on it disembarking on one of its wings,” recalls Yury Tuysk, who lives in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg). about the event that took place on August 21, 1963.
The Russian pilot repeatedly demonstrated his excellent ability in difficult situations that forced an emergency landing. (Photo: TASS).
What happened in this event was a bit like the case of the “Miracle on the Hudson”, but Aeroflot pilots had to deal with the complete failure of both engines of the Tu-124.
After taking off from Tallinn Airport, Estonia, the crew of the Tu-124 carrying 45 passengers soon discovered that the front fork could not be retrieved, and directed the plane to Leningrad instead of Moscow.
After reaching Leningrad airspace, the pilots decided to fly around the city to drain fuel before making an emergency landing. The plane’s front fork remained stuck while an engine stopped working, forcing the captain to fly over the city of Leningrad to land at Pulkovo airport.
Suddenly the second engine stopped working, the plane did not have enough altitude to glide out of the city. Captain Viktor Mostovoy, then 27 years old, had no choice but to land in the Neva.
The “Miracle on the Neva” happened on August 21, 1963 in the city of Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg). (Photo: Sputnik)
The Tu-124 flew over several bridges on the Neva, even just a few meters from the top of the last bridge. When landing, the right wing of the Tu-124 nearly collided with a tugboat, the landing was so smooth that no one on board was injured.
Veteran pilot Yury Sytnik commented that it was an extremely rare case: “It can only be done on simulation. In real life, only 2 out of 10 aircraft are intact after such a landing. Water is not as soft as you think, hard to land on water and it can tear your plane to small pieces. It’s almost impossible to survive.”
Miracle in Izhma
On September 7, 2010, Alrosa’s Tupolev Tu-154 plane carrying 81 passengers encountered an extremely dangerous situation while flying over the taiga forests in Siberia, when the aircraft’s electrical system was completely damaged. .
This means that the navigation system stops and the fuel pump stops working, the plane’s engine only has enough fuel for 30 minutes of flight after the incident.
Video: Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft miraculously landed in Izhma
Fortunately, the pilots discovered an abandoned airport near the village of Izhma, for nearly 12 years in a row only helicopters landed here and was even removed from the map for 7 consecutive years. But the surprising thing is that the runway is still good enough for passenger planes to land.
Even though he only has to take on the job of maintaining the helipad, Sergei Sotnikov, who is in charge of this area, voluntarily maintains the airport’s runway. Sergei Sotnikov later told reporters that the Tu-154 pilot “couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw the runway – I installed the necessary signs and painted the signs”.
However, the runway was a bit too short, it was only 1,300 m thick while the Tu-154 needed a 2 km runway to ensure a safe landing. In addition, a malfunction in the electrical system caused the aircraft’s wing rims to fail, making it impossible to reduce speed.
The Tu-154 skidded off the runway 160 m. (Photo: Sputnik)
The pilot controlling the Tu-154 had to perform three landing maneuvers, when landing the Tu-154 moved at 420 km/h instead of 250 km/h as usual. “So fast that the tire burned. The plane crossed the runway about 160 meters,” Sotnikov said. And luckily, no one on board was injured.
“ I feel grateful to the crew. We don’t have time to be afraid,” one of the passengers said shortly after arriving in Moscow. Mr. Sotnikov received the medal for his responsible and self-disciplined actions in the maintenance of the aforementioned airport, which is not his duty, and the two pilots received the title of Hero of Russia.
Explosions in the Caribbean Sea
On February 10, 2016, Orenair’s Boeing 777 passenger plane carrying passengers took off from the airport in the Dominican Republic to Moscow, Russia. But the plane’s engine caught fire and exploded.
“We are in the front of the plane. Explosion happened to the left… The captain said he was making an emergency landing and we were going back to Punta Cana. He turns the plane around for about 40 minutes. Landing took place as usual. The captain was amazing,” passenger Alexander Kolotilin told RT.
Captain Konstantin Parikozha, who safely performed the emergency landing on a Boeing 777, had only one engine left. (Photo: TASS)
Landing a huge passenger plane full of fuel and only one engine left is a terrible challenge.
“ The actions of the flight crew were extremely professional. The weight of the plane is very large. It is not possible to use all the usual measures because only one engine is working,” test pilot Viktor Zabolotsky appreciated the actions of the pilots on this crashed Boeing 777.
During landing, the fuselage of the aforementioned Boeing 777 caught fire. Passengers were forced to use emergency slides to evacuate the plane. No one was injured in the incident and the captain of the Boeing 777 was awarded the Medal of Courage by Russian President Vladimir Putin.