It may look like a scene from a movie, but it really happened. An aircraft door opened mid-flight, causing panic among passengers and crew. It all happened on Sunday during the flight of the AN-26-100 of the Russian airline IrAero. There are no reports of injuries.
The rear door of the cargo compartment opened mid-flight shortly after the plane took off from Magan Airport, in eastern Russia, the airline confirmed to the Independent newspaper.
The plane was en route to the Russian city of Magadan when the 25 passengers and six crew members were surprised by the opening of one of the plane’s doors, causing panic at an altitude of about 9,000 feet.
Footage of the moment was captured and shared by aviation blog FL360aero on social networks.
During take-off from Yakutsk-Magan Airport (Russia), the tailgate of an IrAero Antonov An-26 partially opened.
Some of the luggage flew off the plane before making a safe landing at Magan Airport. https://t.co/FIXeciax5W pic.twitter.com/4WCPdDqtX9– Aviation Safety Network (ASN) (@AviationSafety) January 9, 2023
Magan Airport, in a statement quoted by the British newspaper, confirmed the incident, noting that some passengers’ hats and belongings were eventually sucked out of the plane after opening the plane’s rear door.
“On January 9, 2023, around 2:00 PM local time, the IrAero AN-26-100 aircraft, carrying 25 passengers and six crew members, was forced to return to the departure airport of Magan (Republic of Sakha, Yakutia) for technical reasons – venting the hatch,” said an airline spokesperson.
“Fortunately, the 25 people on board, including the crew, were unharmed,” read the note from Magan airport, where the plane returned after the incident.
Source: DN
