All on board survive Ural Airlines Airbus A321, which carried out an emergency landing in a field, after a severe bird-strike into both engines on departure from Moscow Zhukovsky.
According to Avherald, An Ural Airlines Airbus A321-100, registration VQ-BOZ performing flight U6-178 from Moscow Zhukovsky (Russia) to Simferopol (Crimean Peninsula) with 226 passengers and 7 crew, was in the initial climb through 750 feet out of Zkukovsky's runway 12 at about 06:15L (03:15Z) when the aircraft flew through a flock of birds and ingested birds into both engines (CFM56). Both engines failed, one emitting noises as if the engine was spooling up and down, forcing the crew to stop the climb at 750 feet; the aircraft was landed in a corn field about 2.77NM past the runway with the landing gear retracted. The occupants of the aircraft evacuated via slides, there were 10 injuries (including three children). The aircraft sustained substantial damage.
Images from the scene, showing the A321 in a field of tall crops with evacuation slides deployed from multiple exits, indicate that the aircraft suffered substantial damage to its engines.
"The crew and passengers were not injured," adds the airline.
Russia's federal Investigative Committee has opened a routine criminal probe into the event, stating that the aircraft made a "hard landing" in a field in the Ramenskoye district.
It says an investigative team is organising the necessary actions, with the aim of establishing "all the circumstances and causes" of the accident.
The flight crew told Russian media the problem began right after takeoff, when a bird hit the left hand engine causing it to fail completely; shortly followed by another bird strike into the right hand engine, which subsequently provided insufficient thrust to remain airborne. The captain took control and landed the aircraft in an open field.
Zhukovsky's official flight information states that flight U6178 departed for Simferopol at 06:05. Meteorological data from Zhukovsky show that weather conditions were good.
This aircraft previously suffered damage in a 2013 incident at Kazan, when it struck an antenna during a go-around.