By Doris Israel Ijeoma
In a concerning incident on Thursday, a pilot made an erroneous landing, causing passengers to experience fear and anxiety when their aircraft landed on cracking ice instead of a designated landing strip near the Kolyma River in Russia.
The 52-year-old Antonov-24 plane had departed from Yakutsk, renowned as one of the coldest cities globally, and unexpectedly touched down on the icy surface, mistaking it for the intended landing area along the riverbank.
Despite the bone-chilling temperature of minus 41 degrees Celsius, all thirty passengers and four crew members onboard, affiliated with Polar Airlines, were safely evacuated on foot.
Reportedly, the pilot misidentified the frozen Kolyma River as a small airstrip in the remote town of Zyryanka, located approximately 70 miles below the Arctic Circle with a population of fewer than 4,000 residents.
The Kolyma River, originating from the Kolyma Mountains in northeastern Siberia, is approximately 1,323 miles (2,129 kilometers) long and spans an area of 250,000 square miles (647,000 square kilometers).
Historically, this river served as a transportation route for prisoners during Joseph Stalin’s era in the Soviet Union.
Photographs from the scene revealed the stranded aircraft positioned on the thick ice, raising concerns despite its reported 2ft 7 inches thickness. Notably, a visible crack near the plane has been observed.
Fortunately, no casualties were reported, and the aircraft sustained minimal damage, as confirmed by local media outlet Evening Yakutsk. However, the flight did not proceed as scheduled to Srednekolymsk.
Russian authorities, including the Federal Air Transport Agency and the East Siberian Transport Prosecutor’s Office, have deemed this river landing a “serious incident.” Initial investigations suggest that an error in piloting by the crew led to the plane’s deviation from the designated runway.
The prosecutor’s office confirmed the commencement of a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident to prevent such occurrences in the future and ensure aviation safety.
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