Penza, 22 July 2017. PenzaNews. An An-148 plane flying from Penza to Sochi on the night of Saturday, July 22, made forced landing in Saratov after collision with birds. This is reported by Interfax with reference to a resource in the flight service.

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The aircraft commander informed the dispatcher about the collision with birds while the plane was climbing and later – about suspicion of failure of one of the engines.

The plane was immediately directed to Saratov to carry out forced landing on an alternate airfield.

The crew managed to safely land the plane with only one working engine. Almost 80 passengers were promptly evacuated. Engineers of ground services immediately began inspecting the malfunctioning engine.

People flying to the South spent some time at the Saratov airport. When the reserve place was ready, they continued flying to the resort. The total delay time is not specified.

The flights from Penza to Sochi on An-148 planes are carried out by Saratov airlines. According to the schedule, on Fridays aircrafts depart at 21.50 and arrive at the destination at 00.05.

The incident was not commented on by the airline company yet.