The crew of a Russian passenger aircraft reportedly carrying “radioactive cargo” was forced to perform an emergency landing.
Shortly after taking off from Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport on December 11, the five crewmembers aboard the Utair Boeing-737 were reportedly forced to declare an emergency and, after U-turning, made a landing at “increased speed” at the same air hub they had left some 40 minutes prior.
The aircraft, which counted 109 passengers, suffered “unsynchronised flap retraction”, it was reported.
Aboard the plane were also 19 kilograms of an unspecified radioactive substance, news outlets Baza and Shot have claimed.
The mysterious cargo, meant to be delivered to Khanty-Mansiysk in western Siberia, was “not damaged” and no passengers was injured, Shot alleged.
The Russian Transport Prosecutor’s Office said “the aircraft commander reported a [problem] with the wing mechanisation, and therefore a decision was made to return to the airport of departure… The landing was completed safely.”
Russian authorities haven’t commented on the mysterious cargo, while Shot claimed it was categorised as “dangerous good” and that its carriage had been permitted by the Russian Transport Ministry.
While initial reports suggested a “radioactive substance” rather than equipment was aboard the aircraft, Airline Utair claimed the plane was carrying cargo for a cancer hospital. No clear details about the goods were given.
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