UTair Flight 579
_(2).jpg) VQ-BJI, the aircraft involved in the accident, pictured in 2013 | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 1 September 2018 |
| Summary | Runway overrun, under investigation |
| Site | Sochi International Airport, Sochi, Russia 43°27′07″N 39°57′39″E / 43.451935°N 39.960957°E |
| Total fatalities | 1 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 737-800 |
| Operator | Utair |
| Registration | VQ-BJI |
| Flight origin | Vnukovo International Airport, Moscow, Russia |
| Destination | Sochi International Airport, Sochi, Russia |
| Occupants | 170 |
| Passengers | 164 |
| Crew | 6 |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 18 |
| Survivors | 170 (all) |
| Ground casualties | |
| Ground fatalities | 1 (indirect) |
On September 1, 2018, Utair Flight 579, a Boeing 737-800 on a scheduled domestic flight from Moscow to Sochi, Russia, with 164 passengers and 6 crew, overran the runway and caught fire while landing at Sochi, injuring 18 occupants. One airport employee died of a heart attack.[1][2]
Aircraft
The aircraft involved in the accident was a Boeing 737-8AS[a] with serial number 29937 and Bermudan registration VQ-BJI. It was delivered new to Ryanair in 2002 and operated with the airline until 2009. It operated with Atlant-Soyuz Airlines (later rebranded Moscow Airlines) between 2010 and January 2011 and with Utair from October 2011.[3]
Accident
The flight departed from Vnukovo Airport at 12:30 am local time with 164 passengers and six crew. The flight crew aborted the first two approaches to Sochi before committing to a third that resulted in the overrun. The aircraft touched down at 2:57 am and overran runway 06, came to rest on the bed of the Mzymta River and caught fire, prompting an evacuation.[4]
Eighteen occupants were injured; injuries included burns and carbon monoxide poisoning.[1] Transportation Minister Yevgeny Dietrich confirmed that an airport employee died of a heart attack during the emergency response.[5]
Thunderstorms were reported over Sochi at the time of the accident. The aircraft received damage to its belly, wings and engines.[3] The airport operator reported that the fire was extinguished within eight minutes.[5]
Investigation
An accident investigation was launched by the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) of Russia. Two days after the crash on September 3, the IAC reported that the flight recorders had been recovered from the aircraft, the data were retrieved successfully and would be analyzed. The committee completed examination of the accident site and was making preparations for moving the aircraft. The United States National Transportation Safety Board, representing the State of Design and State of Manufacture of the aircraft, and the United Kingdom's Air Accidents Investigation Branch, representing the State of Registry, were invited to participate in the investigation.[6]
The Investigative Committee of Russia also launched a probe into the crash, with a Southern Transport Department official stating that "a criminal investigation has been opened into the emergency landing ... on suspicion of inadequate services with a risk to clients' health."[7]
Notes
- ^ The aircraft was a Boeing 737-800 model; Boeing formerly assigned a unique code for each company that bought one of its aircraft, which replaced the trailing zeros in the variant number, hence "737-8AS" designates a 737-800 ordered by Ryanair.
References
- ^ a b "Jet crashes on landing in Russian city". BBC News. September 1, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
- ^ "Accident: UTAir B738 at Sochi on Sep 1st 2018, overran runway on landing". avherald.com. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
- ^ a b "Aircraft accident Boeing 737-8AS (WL) VQ-BJI Adler/Sochi Airport (AER)". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
- ^ "Over a dozen injured after plane catches fire in Russia". New York Post. September 1, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
- ^ a b "Airport worker dies after plane's crash landing in Russia". September 1, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
- ^ "Boeing 737-800 VQ-BJI 01.09.2018". МЕЖГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫЙ АВИАЦИОННЫЙ КОМИТЕТ.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ Sputnik. "At least 18 Injured as Passenger Plane Catches Fire During Landing in Sochi". sputniknews.com. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
