- Title: Russian pilot says he's no hero despite praise for crash-landing
- Date: 16th August 2019
- Summary: YEKATERINBURG, RUSSIA (AUGUST 16, 2019) (REUTERS) RUSSIAN PILOT DAMIR YUSUPOV WALKING TO MEDIA OUT OF URAL AIRLINES HEADQUARTERS (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) PILOT DAMIR YUSUPOV, SAYING: "I wasn't scared. I saw the cornfield in front of me. I hoped that we would land more or less softly, I tried to minimise our vertical speed to ensure a soft landing and a smooth slide." URAL AIRLINES HEADQUARTERS (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) PILOT DAMIR YUSUPOV, SAYING: "I was in the cockpit with the second pilot, the decision to land in the field was made after the second engine failed and a steady loss of altitude. We had already realised that the plane would keep descending, we will not manage to gain altitude or to keep it. So we made a decision to land in the field ahead of us. Next, regarding the actions of the cabin crew, I want to say that their actions were well coordinated, quick and professional. The flight attendants are really witty. They thought quickly, quickly opened the door. They did everything according to the instructions. All the passenger are grateful to them. I think the number of the injured was lower than could be due to their efforts." URAL AIRLINES HEADQUARTERS (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN PILOT DAMIR YUSUPOV, SAYING: "(JOURNALIST ASKING OFF CAMERA: WHAT DID YOUR SON SAY?) He is worried for me of course. He is happy that everyone is safe and sound. He is proud of me." PEOPLE AT ENTRANCE (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN PILOT DAMIR YUSUPOV, SAYING: "As it turns out, I am even slightly guilty that I did not manage to bring them to the destination, to Simferopol. I talked to some passengers as we walked around the plane. I would like to wish them health, or to regain health if they were injured. May they be healthy and not afraid to fly. (JOURNALIST ASKING: 'AREN'T YOU AFRAID TO FLY NOW, AFTER THE ACCIDENT?") No, I'm not." URAL AIRLINES LOGO (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN FLIGHT ATTENDANT, DMITRY IVLITSKY, SAYING: "In the first minutes... there were a lot of children, so they all started screaming. I said - calm down, the exits are there, there. And everyone started jumping outside one by one in an organised way. (JOURNALIST ASKING OFF CAMERA: 'DID YOU ANNOUNCE AN EMERGENCY SITUATION?') We did not know that there will be an emergency situation. No one knew that. Even myself, when we were flying I could not understand - are we making a landing approach? It was not clear what was going on until we landed." VARIOUS OF PILOT TRAINING FACILITY EXTERIOR
- Embargoed: 30th August 2019 14:28
- Keywords: Russia airplane emergency landing Damir Yusupov pilot Ural airlines A321 Airbus crash landing
- Location: YEKATERINBURG, RUSSIA
- City: YEKATERINBURG, RUSSIA
- Country: Russia
- Topics: Air Accidents,Disaster/Accidents
- Reuters ID: LVA001ASGX16V
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Russian pilot, Damir Yusupov, who landed a passenger plane in a cornfield after hitting a flock of birds said on Friday (August 16) he was no hero despite the Kremlin lauding him for saving the lives of 233 people.
Russian media have said it was a miracle that no one was killed when the Ural Airlines Airbus 321 was forced to land on Thursday in a field on the outskirts of Moscow less than two minutes after it took off from Zhukovsky International Airport.
The plane was carrying 233 people en route to Simferopol in Crimea. More than 70 passengers were treated for injuries following the emergency landing but nobody was killed. The Kremlin has lauded the pilots for their handling of the aircraft and promised to give them state awards.
The second pilot, Georgy Murzin, was receiving treatment in a hospital on Friday for a bruised chest, the RIA news agency reported.
Russia's natural resources watchdog said late on Thursday it had identified an illegal rubbish dump roughly two kilometres from Zhukovsky International, which is southeast of Moscow, as being the possible home of the birds which caused the emergency landing.
Officials from the watchdog and the ecology ministry were due to check the site as well as others nearby, RIA news agency reported.
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