RuAviation

In the Novosibirsk region near the village of Kamenka, 180 kilometres from the regional centre, the engineering staff of Ural Airlines began dismantling parts and units from the A320 aircraft (reg. RA-73805) that made an emergency landing in a wheat field on September 12, 2023. The carrier’s press service said.

‘The work will be carried out in stages in accordance with the technologies of dismantling each unit and element. Aircraft parts that are in airworthiness have been tested. They will be retested and will be able to be used for their intended purpose in the future. Aircraft elements that were damaged will be repaired or utilised,’ said the airline’s representative.

The A320 aircraft (reg. RA-73805) was on a flight from Sochi to Omsk, but due to a technical malfunction of the hydraulic system when landing in Omsk, it turned back to Tolmachevo airport to land on a longer runway. The landing distance required for landing an aircraft with a hydraulic system failure is 1856 metres, while the length of the runway at Omsk airport is 2500 metres, which provided the aircraft with a safe landing. Weather conditions also allowed the aircraft to land safely at Omsk airport.

In the process of gaining altitude, the aircraft commander switched the landing gear selector to the ‘retracted’ position, but the landing gear did not actually retract due to the lack of sufficient pressure in the hydraulic system. The crew was unable to correctly determine the actual position of the landing gear struts and made an unreasonable decision to fly to Novosibirsk. The flight to Novosibirsk continued with released landing gear, which resulted in increased fuel consumption and the inability to fly to Tolmachevo airport.

Initially, the management of Ural Airlines considered the option of taking off from the ground, ferrying the airliner to Tolmachevo and recovering it. However, such an operation would have required the construction of a runway.

Calculations of the potential costs of checking the integrity of the landing gear and other components of the aircraft, subsequent restoration of airworthiness and preparation of the runway for takeoff on a wheat field showed that it would be more profitable to dismantle the aircraft, making it a donor for the existing fleet, and to write off the aircraft itself.

The airline expects to complete the work to dismantle the aircraft by December 2024.