MOSCOW – In a dramatic turn of events, an airplane mistakenly landed on a frozen river instead of the runway near the Russian city of Yakutsk.
The incident involving Polar Airlines’ small aircraft occurred in Yakutsk, a Siberian region renowned as one of the world’s coldest cities.
According to local media reports, the pilot mistook the frozen Kolyma River for a small landing strip and endangered the lives of 30 passengers and four crew members.
The incident which fortunately involved no loss of lives happened on Thursday; passengers and crew members safely walked across the frozen river to reach a secure area while leaving the stranded plane stuck in the snow.
The thickness of the ice on the river was reported to be over two feet, but images indicated deep cracks as the aircraft landed.
So far, there hasn’t been any effort to relocate the Antonov An-24 aircraft from ice, although it did not sustain any significant damage. The investigators have concluded that the incident occurred due to the pilot’s mistake.
