Statements made by the honorary pilot of Russia, Lieutenant General Viktor Sevostyanov, on the U6178 case

On the morning of this day, the Airbus A321-200 URAL Airlines (VQ-BOZ) aircraft landed in a corn lane as a matter of urgency. The plane took off from Moscow, with the destination Simferopol Airport.

He operated the flight #U6178 and had 233 persons on board (226 passengers and 7 crew members). Following the impact with a flock of birds, both engines of the aircraft failed, which led to the emergency landing.

At the helm of the plane were Commander Damir Yusupov and co-pilot Georgy Murzin. Commander Damir Yusupov has over 3000 flight hours, while Georgy Murzin has only 600 flight hours.

Passenger evacuation was successfully performed by flight attendants Nadezhda Vershinina, Dmitry Goncharenko, Dmitry Ivlitsky, Aliya Slyakova and Yana Yagodina.

Statements by Viktor Sevostyanov

Russia's ITAR-TASS news agency spoke with the honorary pilot of Russia, Lieutenant General Viktor Sevostyanov. He said the pilots acted very well. They showed a remarkable ability, acting with the precision of a "clock". The crew managed to stop the engines and fuel before the impact on the ground.

Viktor Sevostyanov also praised the fact that the landing was made with the landing gear high. If the landing gear had been removed, there was a risk that the plane would break to pieces and catch fire. This was a tragedy avoided.

Viktor Sevostyanov mentioned that pilots are regularly preparing for such situations, but even so, he has not stopped praising those in the cockpit of A321-200 URAL Airlines (VQ-BOZ).

Sevostyanov mentioned that it was a clever landing, made like a manual. It was not easy to keep the plane under such conditions. And we all know the result. Everyone on board survived.

Viktor Sevostyanov is a military pilot with 30 years old in the Russian Air Force.