What happened
At 06:15 local time, an aircraft departed from runway 12 at Moscow-Zukhovski (Ramenskoye) Airport, destined for Simferopol. The flight was carrying a total of 233 people, consisting of 226 passengers and 7 crew members. Shortly after the takeoff roll, while the aircraft was at an extremely low altitude of approximately 60 cm to 1.2 meters, it encountered a flock of seagulls.
The collision resulted in the ingestion of birds into both engines, causing a significant loss of power. According to reports from the crew, the left engine ceased functioning almost instantly, while the right engine continued to run with irregular power output. Due to the loss of thrust, the aircraft was unable to sustain a climb.
In response to the emergency, the pilot executed an emergency landing in a nearby cornfield. The aircraft performed a belly landing roughly 3.5 km beyond the end of the runway, sliding for several dozen meters before coming to a stop. The impact caused both engines to be partially torn from the airframe. While the aircraft type was destroyed beyond repair, all 233 occupants successfully evacuated the cabin. There were 23 injuries reported, all of which were described as slight.
Findings
- The primary cause of the engine failure was the ingestion of birds into both engines during the initial climb phase.