Passengers Told to Get Out and PUSH Their Plane
>After its Brakes Froze in Minus 52C Temperatures in Russia
- Passengers disembarked in minus 52C to push after plane's brakes froze
- The Soviet-era aircraft was frozen to the ground at Igarka airport in Russia
- Many of the 70 passengers helped dislodge plane and move it backwards
- Eventually it made a successful flight to regional capital of Krasnoyarsk
The Siberian Times, 27 Nov 2014
Passengers on a Russian plane disembarked in minus 52C to push their jet - after its brakes froze in the icy temperatures.
The UTair aircraft 'literally froze on the ground at Igarka airport, above the Arctic Circle,' reported The Siberian Times
'Fearing the UTair service to regional capital Krasnoyarsk could be delayed, many of the 70 passengers used brute strength to free the 30 ton Tupolev 134.'
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Passengers on a Russian plane disembarked in minus 52C to push their jet - after its brakes froze in the icy temperatures at Igarka airport
A video shows the successful mass effort to budge the Soviet-era plane, after which it made a successful flight to regional capital Krasnoyarsk
Men - many of them oil and gas workers - are heard shouting: 'Come on, push!' as they try and dislodge the 30 ton aircraft
A video shows the successful mass effort to budge the Soviet-era plane, after which it made a successful flight to regional capital Krasnoyarsk.
One says:
'Real man can plant a tree, build a house, push a plane.'
Another added:
'We just want to get back home.'
The passengers pushed the plane's wings, freeing the frozen brakes, and moving it backwards
Problems developed on one of the coldest days of the year because 'the wrong kind of grease was used for the landing gear'
- unsuitable for Far North locations, it was reported
Airline bosses claimed the Tu-134 was 'technically serviceable', but the chilly temperatures led it to freeze up
The passengers pushed the plane's wings, freeing the frozen brakes, and moving it backwards.
Problems developed on one of the coldest days of the year because 'the wrong kind of grease was used for the landing gear' - unsuitable for Far North locations, it was reported.
Vladimir Artemenko, a director of Katekavia, which ran the flight jointly with UTair, claimed the Tu-134 was 'technically serviceable', but the chilly temperatures led it to freeze up.
The airport tractor had failed to move the plane.
'When people pushed the plane, the wheel cranked out, and then the aircraft could continue to move,' he said.
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