MOSCOW, November 7. /TASS/. The Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) has officially published a report on the hard landing of an Airbus A321 in a cornfield in Ramenskoye, Moscow region, in 2019.

The final report was prepared in 2021, but has not been officially published to date. TASS reported the reasons because it obtained the report.

"The accident with the A321-211 aircraft occurred during takeoff in the afternoon (at 06:15 a.m. Moscow time) in visual weather conditions as a result of its collision after separation from the runway at an altitude of 0.6-1.2 m with a flock of seagulls with an individual mass of more than 1.13 kg, which fall under the certification category ‘big bird’, which led to a mechanical damage of both engines, reduction of their total available thrust to a value less than the thrust of one serviceable engine in FLEX 49 mode (the mode, in which the takeoff was performed), the inability to continue the flight with the actual configuration of the aircraft (the landing gear position is not removed) and an emergency landing outside the airfield," the document says.

The development of events

Immediately after taking off from the runway, the plane collided with seagulls. At least three birds got into the left engine, and at least one bird got into the right engine. Later, parts of their carcasses and feathers were found in the aircraft and on the runway of the airfield. Landfills and reservoirs in the area have become a factor in the appearance of birds near Zhukovsky airport.

After the collision with the seagulls, the engines continued to work, but their total thrust was less than required for a takeoff. The crew switched the engines to a "take-off - departure for the second lap" mode, the thrust increased almost to the value that allowed it to gain altitude. But after that, one of the engines was switched to low gas and the total thrust of both power plants dropped again.

The crew continued to take off, but could not gain altitude and continue the flight. At 06:15 a.m., the plane landed hard in a cornfield 5 km from the runway.

Pilot actions

The IAC report says that the actions of the pilots after the plane collided with the birds had "clear signs of disorganization, inconsistency and randomness" due to a psychological stress. However, the pilots did not fall into a stupor. "In fact, at the initial stage of the continued takeoff (before the autopilot was turned on), the crew did not perform (or performed, but insufficiently) any of the actions provided for in the continued takeoff procedure, namely: the landing gear did not retract, the directional arrow readings were ignored, the beta-target centering was not performed, the pedal forces before turning on the autopilot was not trimmed," the report reads.

The simulation results show that with the landing gear released, the aircraft would not be able to gain altitude without losing speed. But even with the chassis retracted, the speed would be less than the required certification.

During the interview, the commander of the aircraft Damir Yusupov admitted that the crew had made some mistakes after the collision. "There were mistakes, yes, the landing gear was not removed, the slide was not removed, this caused the release of interceptors, a drop in speed, and an increase in pitch," the survey protocol is quoted in the final report. At the same time, the pilot notes that there was no stupor at the time of the emergency.

France's position

Besides the report, the IAC published the position of France’s Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA), since Airbus is a French company.

"The collision with the birds occurred immediately after takeoff at a speed of about 15 knots higher than V1 (the speed of making a decision on whether to continue takeoff or abort it - TASS) and then, when the right engine was still producing thrust the aircraft could fly and the crew had no reason to suspect further deterioration in flight performance / flight quality, the main reason for which was the landing gear, which remained in the released position," the document says.

Airbus and BEA say that the pilots should not stop taking off after reaching V1.

The miracle in the cornfield

The incident, which the media called the "miracle in the cornfield," occurred on August 15, 2019. The liner with 226 passengers took off from Zhukovsky airport near Moscow and collided with a flock of seagulls, which caused the engines to malfunction. The landing was successful, no one died, and a fire was avoided, although the tanks were full. 76 people, including 19 children, sought medical help.

Ural Airlines flight attendants Dmitry Ivlitsky, Aliya Slyakayeva, Dmitry Goncharenko and Yana Yagodina led the evacuation of people from the cabin after landing. They were awarded Orders of Courage. The plane was landed by Yusupov and co-pilot Georgy Murzin. The president awarded them the title of Heroes of Russia.