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Decision on Moscow’s belly-landed Airbus A321’s removal to be made on August 19 - airline

As the airline reported via their official Instagram account, the plane is guarded by the Russian National Guard, there are no sightings of outsiders or looters

YEKATERINBURG, August 17. /TASS/. The decision on removing the Ural Airlines’ Airbus A321 from the cornfield near Moscow where it had to make an emergency landing will be made on August 19, CEO of the airline Sergey Skuratov told TASS on Saturday.

"On Monday (August 19 -TASS) everything will be clear. An Airbus commission is working, as well as CFM engine owners and our experts," he said in response to a question whether a decision to remove the plane was made.

As the airline reported via their official Instagram account, the plane is guarded by the Russian National Guard, there are no sightings of outsiders or looters. "Certain mass media outlets are spreading the false information that the Ural Airlines’ belly-landed plane has been attacked by looters. The airline officially refutes these reports," the airline said.

On August 15, the Ural Airlines Airbus A321 was heading to Simferopol from Moscow when it made a belly landing near Zhukovsky International Airport in the Moscow Region. According to the Federal Air Transport Agency, the plane struck a flock of birds shortly after takeoff. Both of the aircraft’s engines sucked in some of them and caught fire. There were over 230 people aboard the aircraft, 226 passenger and 41 children.

The crew managed to land the plane in a cornfield and evacuate all passengers. According to latest reports, a total of 76 people, including 19 children, were injured.

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