Ural Airlines has confirmed engineers have begun dismantling an Airbus A320, which was forced to land in a Russian wheat field during an emergency incident last year.
On September 12, 2024, the Ural Airlines Airbus A320, registered RA-73805, initiated an emergency landing after the pilots feared the aircraft was about to run out of fuel while diverting to Novosibirsk Airport (OVB).
News of the peculiar event spread around the world, and a decision about the fate of the stranded jet became a saga of its own.
At one stage it was thought that Russia may try to fly the A320 out of the field using a temporary runway but in January 2024, it was reported that Ural Airlines had decided the plane would be dismantled.
According to the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, there were 167 people on board the jet, including 23 children and 6 crew members.
In a statement on September 6, 2024, Ural Airlines said that “engineering and technical staff of the airline began dismantling parts and units from the aircraft”.
The airline confirmed that the process would take place in stages, due to different parts of the A320 requiring different technologies to complete the strip down.
“The aircraft parts that are airworthy have been identified. They will be tested again before being re-used for their intended purpose. The aircraft elements that were damaged will be repaired. The airline plans to complete the dismantling work on the aircraft by December 2024,” Ural Airlines said in a statement.
⚡️In 🇷🇺Russia, an Airbus passenger plane of Ural Airlines failed to fly from Sochi to Omsk and made an emergency landing in a field due to technical problems
— 🪖MilitaryNewsUA🇺🇦 (@front_ukrainian) September 12, 2023
There were 170 passengers on board, including 23 children. No victims.
Initially, the reason for the emergency landing… pic.twitter.com/gQJUzvuKfk
On April 11, 2024, the Russian Federal Agency for Air Transport (Rosaviatsiya) published an investigation report that said the incident arose from multiple violations and errors made by the crew.
Part of the report seen by AeroTime said that the pilots diverted to OVB as they knew the hydraulic system affecting the aircraft could be repaired there.
The report said that the crew were concerned that if they landed at their designated destination at Omsk Tsentralny Airport (OMS) it would go against company advice to try and land at airports where there are trained technical personnel to perform troubleshooting work.