Posted on 01/09/2023 10:37:48 AM PST by Red Badger
THIS is the shocking moment a plane door sprang open mid-air as panicked passengers feared they would be "blown out".
The pilot of the Russian flight was forced to make an emergency landing in icy -41C conditions as luggage was sucked out of the Antonov AN-26.
VIDEO AT LINK.............
Hats belonging to the 25 passengers flew off heads and vanished into the bone-chilling air after the rear door popped open soon after takeoff in one of the world’s coldest regions.
Footage shows the door wide open on the IrAero Antonov aircraft, which had taken off from Magan in the Siberian region Yakutia bound for Magadan on Russia’s Pacific coast.
The man filming the nightmare incident is heard swearing in shock at the open door behind him.
Another video from 112 news outlet showed the terrified passengers in the howling ice-cold wind with the rear door open.
A male passenger said: “A man sitting at the rear of the plane was nearly blown away.
“He had just unfastened his seat belt.
“And he was almost blown out of the plane."
The door, used to load cargo and luggage, is normally curtained off from the passengers at the back of the plane but was seen flapping wildly.
Despite the intense cold in the cabin during the drama, all passengers on board were "safe" as the pilot made a rapid emergency landing.
Passenger Sergei Lidrik, 33, from Magadan, said it took 15 minutes from a “loud pop” when the door blew open until the plane landed at the same airport they had just left.
He said: "People were shocked at first.
"The older women were frozen hard.
"People had their hats blown off. They were afraid their luggage had fallen out too, but most of it was in the nose of the plane.
"The men sitting in the back of the plane were freezing cold."
It is believed all the passengers were strapped in for takeoff and wearing coats.
An investigation is underway into the disturbing incident.
One aviation expert told The Insider that the twin-engine turboprop planes should no longer be used.
He said it was "little surprise" the locking system on the door had malfunctioned.
The Antonov AN-26 planes were introduced in the USSR in 1970 and stopped being manufactured in 1986.
Magan is eight miles from Yakutsk, the world’s coldest city, and capital of Yakutia region.
Aviation Ping!........................
Couldn’t someone go outside and close the door?
Another reason, among thousands, not to visit Russia, ever....
It’s missing an engine cover...............
>ping<
If I CAN’T DRIVE THERE, I AIN’T GOING!..............
Walk around checks are helpful; latch not secured?
My guess is metal fatigue....................
“Couldn’t someone go outside and close the door?”
No. Seatbelts Fasten light on.
Better than missing an engine...
The area behind the turbine exhaust outlet is painted black so that soot from the turbine doesn't show as easily.
United Flight 811. I knew and worked with several crew members who were on that flight.
Not sure. Where was the luggage sucked out from? Cargo loading door not latched or busted through the fuselage?
Clever, those Russians...............
Knew a guy from a former life who went to Russia regularly for business.
He told me there was a time when they couldn't get the second engine on a two engine plane started. They announced there would be a brief delay and to stay seated with seat-belts fastened.
Oh, goody, he thought. They are going to get us a replacement plane. But instead, another team arrived and tried to start the second engine.
They couldn't do it either, so the plane took off on one engine. Lucky for him, it landed safely at the destination.
That story was part of my Crew Resource Management class.
Yes, it was the cargo hatch, Located behind the passenger cabin, and separated by just a curtain.............
So just plain incompetence on the part of the crew and ground crew.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.