Russian Boeing 737 lands safely after turning back with cabin pressure issue, flight data shows
A Russian passenger plane operated by S7 Airlines landed safely on Friday after turning back to Novosibirsk airport in Siberia to check its cabin pressure systems, flight tracking data showed.
S7 had said in a statement earlier on Friday that the plane, which had been flying to the southern Russian resort city of Sochi, had been forced to return to its departure airport "to check the cabin pressure control system."
The flightradar24.com tracking website indicated that the plane, a Boeing 737 with seating capacity for 176 passengers manufactured in 2001, landed safely.
The website had earlier indicated that the plane sent an emergency signal. The site tracked it turning back and then repeatedly circling and flying in large loops to use up its fuel before landing.
The airline said in a statement that a replacement aircraft had been prepared to carry passengers to their original destination of Sochi.
The Western Siberian Transport Prosecutor's office said it had been monitoring the incident.
The incident comes a day after an An-24 passenger plane crashed in Russia's far east as it was preparing to land, killing all 48 people on board in an incident that spotlighted the continued use of old, Soviet-era aircraft.
© (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025.
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Yomiuri Shimbun
19 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Jeju Air Jet Still Had a Working Engine When It Crashed, Investigation Update Says
SEOUL, July 27 (Reuters) – A Jeju Air plane that crashed in December during an emergency landing after a bird strike could have kept flying on the damaged engine that was still working after pilots shut down the other one, according to an update from South Korean investigators. The Boeing BA.N 737-800 instead belly-landed at Muan airport without its landing gear down, overshot the runway and erupted into a fireball after slamming into an embankment, killing all but two of the 181 people on board. Investigators have not yet produced a final report into the deadliest air disaster on South Korean soil, but information about the plane's two engines has begun to emerge. According to a July 19 update prepared by investigators and seen by Reuters but not publicly released following complaints from victims' family members, the left engine sustained less damage than the right following a bird strike, but the left engine was shut down 19 seconds after the bird strike. The right engine experienced a 'surge' and emitted flames and black smoke, but investigators said it 'was confirmed to be generating output sufficient for flight,' in the five-page update, which included post-crash photos of both engines. No reason for the crew's actions was given and the probe is expected to last months as investigators reconstruct the plane's technical state and the picture understood by its pilots. Experts say most air accidents are caused by multiple factors and caution against putting too much weight on incomplete evidence. MORE QUESTIONS So far, public attention has focused on the possibility that the crew may have shut down the less-damaged engine, rekindling memories of a 1989 Boeing 737-400 crash in Kegworth, England, where pilots shut down a non-damaged engine by mistake. The disaster led to multiple changes in regulations including improvements in crew communication and emergency procedures. A source told Reuters on Monday that the South Korea-led probe had 'clear evidence' that pilots had shut off the less-damaged left engine after the bird strike, citing the cockpit voice recorder, computer data and a switch found in the wreckage. But the latest update on the crash also raises the possibility that even the more heavily damaged engine that was still running could have kept the plane aloft for longer. It did not say what level of performance the operating engine still had, nor what extra options that might have given to the plane's emergency-focused crew before the jet doubled back and landed in the opposite direction of the runway from its initial plan with its landing gear up. Both engines contained bird strike damage and both experienced engine vibrations after the strike. The right engine showed significant internal damage, the Korean-language update from South Korea's Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (ARAIB) said, but it did not describe the damage found in the left engine. The update did not say how the left engine was operating nor the state of systems connected to either engine, said former U.S. National Transportation Safety Board investigator Greg Feith when shown the document translated by Reuters. It contains some new facts but omits far more, resulting in a 'cryptic' document, he said. ARAIB, which plans to issue a final report next June, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Safety experts say it is common for early reports to contain sparse facts and limited analysis while investigations continue. A preliminary report released in January said feathers and blood stains from ducks were found in both engines. The engines – made by CFM International, jointly owned by GE GE.N and France's Safran – were examined in May and no defects or fault data were found beyond the bird and crash damage, the report said. Families of those who died in the disaster were briefed on the engine findings but asked investigators not to release the July 19 report, saying that it appeared to apportion blame to the pilots without exploring other factors. The report was withheld but Reuters and South Korean media obtained copies. Boeing and GE referred questions about the crash to ARAIB. Safran did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Jeju Air has previously said it is cooperating with ARAIB and is awaiting publication of the investigation. Under global aviation rules, civil air investigations aim to discover crash causes without assigning blame or liability. The Jeju Air pilots' union said ARAIB was 'misleading the public' by suggesting there was no problem with the left engine given that bird remains were found in both. A source who attended the briefing told Reuters that investigators told family members the left engine also experienced a disruptive 'surge,' citing black box data. The pilot union and representatives of bereaved families have asked that evidence be released to support any findings. Relatives say the investigation also needs to focus on the embankment containing navigation equipment, which safety experts have said likely contributed to the high death toll. Global aviation standards call for any navigation equipment in line with runways to be installed on structures that easily give way in case of impact with an aircraft. South Korea's transport ministry has identified seven domestic airports, including Muan, with structures made of concrete or steel, rather than materials that break apart on impact and has said it will improve them. Designs for the new structures are in progress, a ministry official told Reuters last week.
Japan Today
a day ago
- Japan Today
Jeju Air jet still had a working engine when it crashed, investigation update says
FILE PHOTO: The wreckage of the Jeju Air aircraft that went off the runway and crashed at Muan International Airport lies near a concrete structure it crashed into, in Muan, South Korea, December 30, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo By Lisa Barrington, Heekyong Yang and Dan Catchpole A Jeju Air plane that crashed in December during an emergency landing after a bird strike could have kept flying on the damaged engine that was still working after pilots shut down the other one, according to an update from South Korean investigators. The Boeing 737-800 instead belly-landed at Muan airport without its landing gear down, overshot the runway and erupted into a fireball after slamming into an embankment, killing all but two of the 181 people on board. Investigators have not yet produced a final report into the deadliest air disaster on South Korean soil, but information about the plane's two engines has begun to emerge. According to a July 19 update prepared by investigators and seen by Reuters but not publicly released following complaints from victims' family members, the left engine sustained less damage than the right following a bird strike, but the left engine was shut down 19 seconds after the bird strike. The right engine experienced a "surge" and emitted flames and black smoke, but investigators said it "was confirmed to be generating output sufficient for flight," in the five-page update, which included post-crash photos of both engines. No reason for the crew's actions was given and the probe is expected to last months as investigators reconstruct the plane's technical state and the picture understood by its pilots. Experts say most air accidents are caused by multiple factors and caution against putting too much weight on incomplete evidence. MORE QUESTIONS So far, public attention has focused on the possibility that the crew may have shut down the less-damaged engine, rekindling memories of a 1989 Boeing 737-400 crash in Kegworth, England, where pilots shut down a non-damaged engine by mistake. The disaster led to multiple changes in regulations including improvements in crew communication and emergency procedures. A source told Reuters on Monday that the South Korea-led probe had "clear evidence" that pilots had shut off the less-damaged left engine after the bird strike, citing the cockpit voice recorder, computer data and a switch found in the wreckage. But the latest update on the crash also raises the possibility that even the more heavily damaged engine that was still running could have kept the plane aloft for longer. It did not say what level of performance the operating engine still had, nor what extra options that might have given to the plane's emergency-focused crew before the jet doubled back and landed in the opposite direction of the runway from its initial plan with its landing gear up. Both engines contained bird strike damage and both experienced engine vibrations after the strike. The right engine showed significant internal damage, the Korean-language update from South Korea's Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (ARAIB) said, but it did not describe the damage found in the left engine. The update did not say how the left engine was operating nor the state of systems connected to either engine, said former U.S. National Transportation Safety Board investigator Greg Feith when shown the document translated by Reuters. It contains some new facts but omits far more, resulting in a "cryptic" document, he said. ARAIB, which plans to issue a final report next June, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Safety experts say it is common for early reports to contain sparse facts and limited analysis while investigations continue. A preliminary report released in January said feathers and blood stains from ducks were found in both engines. The engines - made by CFM International, jointly owned by GE and France's Safran - were examined in May and no defects or fault data were found beyond the bird and crash damage, the report said. Families of those who died in the disaster were briefed on the engine findings but asked investigators not to release the July 19 report, saying that it appeared to apportion blame to the pilots without exploring other factors. The report was withheld but Reuters and South Korean media obtained copies. Boeing and GE referred questions about the crash to ARAIB. Safran did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Jeju Air has previously said it is cooperating with ARAIB and is awaiting publication of the investigation. Under global aviation rules, civil air investigations aim to discover crash causes without assigning blame or liability. The Jeju Air pilots' union said ARAIB was "misleading the public" by suggesting there was no problem with the left engine given that bird remains were found in both. A source who attended the briefing told Reuters that investigators told family members the left engine also experienced a disruptive "surge," citing black box data. The pilot union and representatives of bereaved families have asked that evidence be released to support any findings. Relatives say the investigation also needs to focus on the embankment containing navigation equipment, which safety experts have said likely contributed to the high death toll. Global aviation standards call for any navigation equipment in line with runways to be installed on structures that easily give way in case of impact with an aircraft. South Korea's transport ministry has identified seven domestic airports, including Muan, with structures made of concrete or steel, rather than materials that break apart on impact and has said it will improve them. Designs for the new structures are in progress, a ministry official told Reuters last week. © (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025.
Asahi Shimbun
a day ago
- Asahi Shimbun
Film sheds light on settlers' sex deal with Soviets in Manchuria
Fumie Matsubara, director of 'Kurokawa no Onnatachi,' discusses her documentary film in Osaka's Yodogawa Ward on June 19. (Akari Uozumi) A statue called 'Otome no Hi' (Monument to the maidens) was erected in 1982 in Gifu Prefecture. But an explanation on who the 'maidens' were and why they were being commemorated did not appear until 36 years later. A plaque inscribed with an epitaph explaining the long-hidden shame of the former village of Kurokawa was set up in 2018. And now, a documentary film sheds further light on the plight of the maidens, who were forced to 'sexually entertain' Soviet soldiers in exchange for their protection of the village's settlement in Manchuria after Japan's defeat in World War II. Directed by Fumie Matsubara, 'Kurokawa no Onnatachi' ('In Their Own Words: The Women of Kurokawa') focuses on women who started talking on camera about their traumatic experiences of sexual violence nearly 70 years after the war. It also features an association of bereaved family members of the Manchurian settlers who, inspired by the women, went to great lengths to set up the explanatory plaque at the stone monument. PROTECTION DEAL Settlers from Kurokawa, now part of Shirakawa town, emigrated to Manchuria in northeast China when it was under Japanese rule. After the war ended and the Japanese troops went home, the settlers were left to fend for themselves in hostile territory. From September through November 1945, they offered about 15 unmarried females between 17 and 21 years old to Soviet soldiers in return for protection against looters and angry locals. Four of the women died in Manchuria. The settlers eventually returned to Japan and kept mum about the sexual services. But the surviving women who came home suffered from defamatory insults. GOING PUBLIC The stone monument was erected to console the souls of the four women who died far from home. Director Matsubara has been covering the Kurokawa settlers since 2018, when she was working at TV Asahi Corp. and presented a two-minute news clip about the completion of the explanatory plaque. At the time, she was also pursuing a political scandal over falsified Finance Ministry documents concerning the heavily discounted sale of state-owned land to Moritomo Gakuen, a private educational institution. 'At a time when history was being forged, ordinary people were squarely facing an inconvenient fact of history,' Matsubara recalled. 'I felt it was a great consolation.' The film captures the changes the women went through after they shared their experiences. Harue Sato was 20 years old when she was in Manchuria and is one of the first women who went public about her ordeal. Students and locals started visiting her home to hear her stories. A senior high school teacher in the area offers a class on wartime violence based on Sato's recounts. Reiko Yasue, who was 17 when the war ended, had kept her past a secret even from family members. She would only talk about her experiences on condition of anonymity. She couldn't sleep when she remembered her days of anguish, and she rarely smiled. But her wounds began to heal when her granddaughter and other supporters, who learned about the sexual violence through news reports and books, gave her warm words. 'I really felt that dignity can be restored when you have supporters,' Matsubara said. She decided to make the documentary to show the strength of the women who publicly spoke about their tragedy and those who listen to their stories. The director asked Shinobu Otake, who has appeared in many films, television shows and theater productions that deal with the theme of peace, to serve as the narrator. The actress immediately accepted the offer. 'Inspired by what the women told them, everyone started searching for what they could do, including making this film' Matsubara said. 'I hope each audience member will also become one of the collaborators to convey their legacy.' The 99-minute film is currently showing nationwide.
