--- title: "Ural Airlines Flight 178 field landing: causes, timeline and findings — OnlyPlanes" description: "The collision with the birds occurred immediately after the separation. At low altitude, the crew had to choose between trying to save the flight and immediately landing directly on the course." canonical_url: "https://onlyplanes.ru/en/plane-crashes/ural-airlines-178-cornfield-2019" locale: en meta: keywords: "aviation, aircraft, airlines, airports, flight" "og:description": "The collision with the birds occurred immediately after the separation. At low altitude, the crew had to choose between trying to save the flight and immediately landing directly on the course." "og:image": "https://onlyplanes.ru/images/aviation/aircraft/boeing-787.webp" "og:title": "Ural Airlines Flight 178 field landing — detailed analysis" --- > Index of every page on this site: [llms.txt](https://onlyplanes.ru/llms.txt) Flight 178, landing outside the airfield # Ural Airlines Flight 178 field landingUral Airlines Flight 178 field landing The collision with the birds occurred immediately after the separation. At low altitude, the crew had to choose between trying to save the flight and immediately landing directly on the course.
Date
15 August 2019
Location
Ramensky District, Russia
Aircraft
Airbus A321-211
On board
233 people on board
Outcome
All 233 people survived
Planned route · main points ## Zhukovsky to Simferopol Loading the geographical map… ***Event location**The mark refers to the place of the event, and not to the center of the nearest city or airport. The published coordinate does not mean geodetic accuracy.55°30′39″N 38°15′9.34″E**Planned route**Zhukovsky to Simferopol The line connects the main points of the planned route, and does not reproduce the actual track. The plane indicates the direction, not the position at the time of the incident. Emergency deviations and returns to this line are not included.*
Route
Zhukovsky to Simferopol
Flight phase
Immediately after takeoff
How events unfolded
From breakaway to landing - minutes
Classification
Aviation accident
The full picture ## What happened Airbus A321 flew from Zhukovsky to Simferopol. Shortly after takeoff, the plane collided with a flock of seagulls. The birds got into the engines, the thrust parameters deteriorated, and the height remained too small for a difficult return maneuver. The crew directed the plane to a cornfield near the airfield. The landing was carried out with a released chassis: the racks and the lower part of the structure took a blow when moving on vegetation and soil. There was no fire after the stop. All 226 passengers and seven crew members survived. Some people were injured. The final report relies on serviceable recorders, engine disassembly, ornithological expertise and modeling, and shows a more complex picture than the early public image of the event. Context and mechanisms ## Detailed account Background, technical details and decisions are examined separately to avoid reducing a complex event to a single explanation. 01Before takeoff ### Ornithological risk that has become a background Flight U6 178 was preparing to fly from Zhukovsky to Simferopol in the early morning of August 15, 2019. On board the Airbus A321-211 VQ-BOZ were 226 passengers and seven crew members. The weather allowed visual flight, the take-off was carried out from the runway 12 at a reduced design thrust mode FLEX 49 - a normal practice that reduces engine wear with a sufficient length of the strip. In the area of the airfield there was a complex ornithological situation. Large clusters of gulls attracted water bodies, landfills and other sources of feed. The crews regularly received general reports of bird movements, but the frequency of such warnings reduced their practical value: the wording began to be perceived as a constant background, rather than a signal of a specific threat on the strip. The final report indicates a lack of reliable data on which the airline could independently assess the risk. There were not enough specific procedures for a situation where the presence of birds is assumed, but not visually confirmed. The decision to continue or interrupt the takeoff remained without a clear operating framework, especially after the start of the high-speed run. Before the speed of decision-making, takeoff can be stopped within the estimated distance. After V1, safe logic requires you to continue because the remaining band may not be enough. The collision occurred in the area of separation and immediately after it - at a time when it is no longer possible to stop, and the height does not yet allow you to calmly assess the damage or build a normal return to the airfield. 02Collision ### Large gulls and damage to two engines A flock of gulls collided with the aircraft, individual birds had a mass of over 1.13 kilograms and were classified as large for certification assessments. Several hits occurred in the left engine, at least one in the right. The blades and internal elements were mechanically damaged, the air flow was disturbed, pompous phenomena arose and a noticeable decrease in available thrust. The total thrust was below the thrust of one serviceable engine in takeoff mode used in the calculations. The aircraft remained heavy and was in configuration with the released chassis. The resistance of the racks significantly worsened the gradient of the set. Commission modeling showed that aerodynamically the aircraft could gain altitude in a certain sequence of actions and configuration, but the real situation was different from the simulator scenarios. After the impact, a false indication of an open leaf of the left engine appeared briefly. For the crew, this meant a potentially extremely dangerous failure, which did not coincide with the usual picture of a bird strike. The report links this unexpected signal to a psychophysiological surge and temporary disorganization of actions. In particular, the chassis was not removed after takeoff, although its cleaning would reduce resistance. In the cabin, warnings were sounded at the same time, engine parameters changed, it was necessary to keep the speed and prevent roll. At a height of several tens of meters, every second mattered. The crew did not have the information that the researchers later had after disassembling the engines and mathematical modeling, so they perceived the aircraft as a machine unable to continue a safe set. 03Landing ### Field ahead and minimum time The commander directed the aircraft approximately along the trajectory of takeoff to an open agricultural surface. Attempting to return would require a roll, a turn and additional energy, which, according to the perception of the crew, was not. At low altitude, the solution "forward" retained controllability and excluded flight over dense development, although the relief of a high corn field from the air was difficult to assess. The landing was carried out with the chassis released, not removed - this is a significant refinement to the common early version of the event. The plane touched vegetation and soil outside the airfield, about a few kilometers from the end of the strip. The racks and the lower part of the structure received heavy loads, the fuselage suffered serious damage, but the inhabited space remained. There was no major fire after the stop. This dramatically increased the time available for evacuation. Flight attendants opened suitable exits and used inflatable ladders, passengers dispersed across the field. Some people suffered injuries of varying severity, but all 233 people survived. The aircraft was declared destroyed and was not subject to return to operation. High survival is not due to one factor. The speed and vertical component of the touch remained within the limits at which the design was able to absorb energy; there were no capital obstacles ahead; the fuel tanks did not give a catastrophic fire; the cabin did not collapse; the evacuation began quickly. The success of the outcome does not negate the need to consider decisions before touching. 04Final Report ### Not a legend, but a complex picture. The investigation included decoding of functional speech and parametric recorders, mapping of debris, disassembly of both engines from the developer, ornithological examination and Airbus modeling. The Commission investigated three interrelated areas: the origin and mass of birds, the real ability of the aircraft to continue the flight and the actions of the crew in a situation that was sharply different from the training. The wording of the reason connects the incident with a collision immediately after separation with a flock of large gulls, mechanical damage to both engines, a drop in total thrust and forced landing outside the airfield. At the same time, the report does not stop at bird strike: it lists the conditions due to which bird warnings have lost signal value, and the crew has not received a specific and reliable idea of the threat. The conclusions also analyze the disorganization of the crew, the unassembled chassis and the difference between the real rejection of training scenarios. Such an analysis does not devalue the salvation of people. Its task is to separate the successful outcome from the quality of each barrier: a safe system should help the crew maintain a manageable configuration even with an unexpected and emotionally heavy combination of signals. The recommendations relate to the ornithological support of airfields, the quality and targeting of warnings, the exchange of data between services and airlines, procedures for detected birds on the strip and the realism of crew training. The main conclusion: the fight against birds does not begin after hitting the engine - it begins with the management of the environment around the airport and accurate information before the run. Sequence ## Event timeline Rather than isolated episodes, this was an unfolding system: each stage inherited the constraints of the one before it. 1. 01Take-off ### Run and break The A321 began a climb with a fully loaded passenger compartment. At this stage, the speed is higher than the minimum, but there is almost no height for reversals and diagnostics. 2. 02After the separation ### Collision with the pack The seagulls crossed the plane's trajectory. Getting into the engines caused unstable operation and loss of traction. 3. 03Low altitude ### Refusal to return Turning to the strip requires a reserve of height and energy. The crew continued to move approximately along the course, holding the aircraft to a suitable open surface. 4. 04Configuration ### Chassis is released After the collision, the racks were not removed. They increased resistance and worsened altitude gain; the final report separately analyzes this missed action and its relation to the unexpected indication of failure. 5. 05Field ### Touch and braking The plane touched the cornfield and stopped without a fire. The design retained the cabin space necessary for survival. 6. 06After the stop ### Evacuation Passengers left on board the inflatable ladders. Rescuers have access to the scene from the ground. More than one cause ## Chain of contributing factors An incident develops when several weaknesses come together along the same path. 01 ### Birds at the Airfield The risk is not only in the air: landfills, reservoirs and food sources around the airport affect the accumulation of birds. 02 ### Minimum of time After takeoff, the crew cannot make a complete diagnosis until the decision is made where the aircraft will be in a few tens of seconds. 03 ### Open surface High vegetation hides relief, but the field excluded buildings and dense ground traffic - an important advantage when forced to land. 04 ### Saloon preservation Controlled touch angles and no fire allowed the structure to absorb energy without destroying the habitable space. From the flight deck ## Decisions and constraints Decisions are assessed against the information, altitude, time and aircraft condition at that moment, rather than what became known later. 01 ### The decision “directly on course” The instinctive desire to return to the airfield often requires a reversal, which a plane with a lack of thrust is not able to complete. At low altitude, the achievable surface is more important than the ideal strip. 02 ### Why Configuration Matters The released chassis increased resistance still in the air and reduced the available gradient of the set. This does not make the decision to land any easier in hindsight, but is important for understanding the energy supply. 03 ### What Determines Survival The small vertical speed, lack of obstacles and fire, the saved cabin and quick evacuation are more important than how badly the aircraft itself is damaged. Summary ## Investigation findings - The collision with the birds occurred shortly after takeoff and was accompanied by a deterioration of the engines. - The plane made a forced landing outside the airfield with the chassis released. - All 233 people on board survived; the aircraft was decommissioned. - Parametric and speech recorders were found in satisfactory condition and used by investigators. After the investigation ## What aviation learned A lesson becomes useful when it leads to a procedure, training, a design change or a new safety barrier. Lesson 01 ### Ornithological protection Reducing risk requires controlling the area around the airfield, eliminating food sources and systematically accounting for bird clusters. Lesson 02 ### Solutions after takeoff Crew training should include a mental map of the sites and criteria for which returning to the lane is already more dangerous than landing in front. Lesson 03 ### Evacuation outside the lane Procedures take into account uneven ground, the inability to use part of the exits and the need to quickly check the risk of fuel and fire. Its relevance today ## A good outcome does not overturn uncomfortable conclusions Landing near Zhukovsky shows the difference between the heroic public plot and the logic of the investigation. The crew really saved the lives of all people, but the commission is obliged to analyze both the missed actions and the configuration of the aircraft, and the real opportunity to continue the set. Gratitude for the outcome should not close the way for technical issues. The main preventive effect lies outside the cabin. Birds do not appear by chance: they are attracted to human-controlled sources of food and water. The airport, municipal services, landfill owners, and aviation authorities must share data and address the causes of congestion, not just disperse flocks before a particular takeoff. For the training of crews, realism is important. Simulatory failure of one engine with a clear indication differs from the hit of birds in two engines, a false reverse signal and unstable parameters on tens of meters. Training should teach you to keep a basic trajectory among conflicting messages before moving on to diagnosis. Continue exploring ## More analyses [Browse the archive](https://onlyplanes.ru/en/plane-crashes) [Emergency landing · 2024

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