​​How Tu-154 Landed in the Middle of Nowhere - September 7, 2010

Part 2

By the final approach, fuel remaining was sufficient for just 4 minutes of flight. The crew had only one chance - there would be no go-around. Approximately 40 minutes after the electrical failure, the aircraft touched down. Despite deploying thrust reversers and using all available braking, the aircraft overran the runway. It rolled through uneven ground and young trees before coming to a complete stop 168 meters past the end of the runway. The fuselage remained intact. All passengers and crew evacuated on their own. No one was injured in the incident.

It turned out the Tu-154 had landed on the long-abandoned runway of remote Izhma airfield in the Komi Republic. Fixed-wing operations there had ceased about 10 years earlier. The runway was officially closed and disused, serving only as a helipad. However, the helipad’s supervisor - and its sole employee - Sergey Sotnikov, had been maintaining the runway on his own initiative. He routinely cleared debris, cut back bushes, and didn’t allow storage of firewood or vehicle parking on the runway.

An investigation concluded that the electrical failure was caused by a thermal runaway of battery No. 1, due to improper maintenance and violation of operational procedures.

The Tu-154 remained at Izhma over the winter, was repaired on site, and on March 24, 2011, it took off for Ukhta. The aircraft was stripped to the minimum takeoff weight and flown by test pilots. The takeoff roll required only 800 meters. After repairs, the Tu-154 returned to commercial service with Alrosa and continued flying until September 29, 2018.

Captain Yevgeny Novosyolov and First Officer Andrey Lamanov were awarded the title “Hero of Russia.” The navigator, flight engineer, and flight attendants received the Order of Courage. Two years after the incident, Sergey Sotnikov was awarded the Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland," 2nd class.