RuAviation

On 24 November 2024, an SSJ 100 aircraft with registration number RA-89085 of Azimut Airlines made a rough landing at Antalya Airport with fuel leaking out and catching fire on the concrete surface of the airfield. As a result of this event, Rosaviatsiya initiated a set of measures to improve flight safety and prevent similar accidents.

According to preliminary data, as a result of unpredictable wind shear and the subsequent rough touchdown of the landing gear with excessive design loads, the brackets of the left strut of the main support broke on weak links and the left engine hit the runway. The aircraft ran along the runway, stopped on its own and was towed off the runway on its landing gear.

The Rosaviatsiya information bulletin for airline managers and private aircraft owners contains recommendations on strengthening control over all stages of aircraft operation, with an emphasis on the prevention of rough landings. It suggests a deeper study of theoretical fundamentals, as well as practical practice of the necessary skills on simulators.

‘In flight safety practice, a rough landing is defined as a case of an aircraft landing with increased vertical overload and/or vertical speed compared to ‘normal’ landings, which creates a risk of damage to the aircraft structure. Rough landings also include cases of aircraft landing ahead of the front landing gear,’ the document says.

To improve the skills of flight personnel, Rosaviatsiya recommends regularly studying methodological materials of aircraft manufacturers, including video materials illustrating the characteristic features of rough landings. It is also recommended to analyse the results of investigations into accidents involving aircraft of other operators.

Rosaviatsiya has obliged airlines to conduct additional crew training on aircraft simulators to practise actions in potentially dangerous situations that could lead to rough landings. It is proposed to involve in the training both acting commanders and pilots who are being trained for this status. Control over the fulfilment of all the above requirements with personal responsibility is assigned to the heads of territorial bodies of Rosaviatsiya.