An Air India Boeing 787 flying from New Delhi, India to Birmingham in the UK has made an emergency landing in Moscow due to technical problems, Sheremetyevo Airport said on Thursday.
“The aircraft’s crew requested an unscheduled landing at Sheremetyevo Airport due to technical problems,” the airport said in a statement, adding that airport services responded to the crew’s request and prepared to receive the aircraft. The flight landed at 6:36pm Moscow time without any injuries to any of the 258 passengers and 17 crew members.
Airport services and specialists are assisting the crew in preparing to continue the flight, which is scheduled to depart Moscow at 9:35pm on Thursday. However, changes have not been ruled out. “The foreign crew receives full assistance from the Russian airport and specialists under the applicable international convention,” the airport said.
The incident is similar to two recent episodes when Indian Airlines planes flying over Russia were forced to make emergency landings due to technical glitches.
In July, an Air India Boeing 777 had to make an emergency landing in the city of Krasnoyarsk, central Russia because of a potential fire on board. Flight AI183 was en route from New Delhi to San Francisco. The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) subsequently reported that no fire or smoke was discovered on board and Russian specialists also found no serious damage after a preliminary inspection of the plane.
In June last year, Flight AI-173 bound for San Francisco from New Delhi was diverted to Magadan on the shores of the Sea of Okhotsk in Russia’s Far East following an issue with one of the plane’s engines. The passengers continued their journey on another Air India flight after spending almost 40 hours on the ground.