Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100 passenger plane burst in to flames during a landing at Antalya International Airport in Turkey last night. According to Turkish and Russian news reports, the blaze, which originated in one of the aircraft’s engines, was eventually extinguished by the airport’s emergency personnel.
The aircraft, operated by budget Russian airline Azimuth, arrived in Antalya following a two-hour journey from Russia’s Black Sea resort city of Sochi on Sunday evening. Upon landing in “challenging” weather conditions, one of the two engines caught fire, releasing smoke and flames as the narrowbody jet came to a halt.
Airport firefighters encircled the aircraft and eventually extinguished the fire, successfully evacuating all 87 passengers and four crew members, as reported by Turkish media. Antalya International Airport’s runway 36R was temporarily closed, leading to the diversion of incoming flights following the incident.
Airport officials confirmed that there were no fatalities or injuries.
The cause of the fire is currently under investigation by Russia’s Rosaviatsia federal air transport agency.
The Superjet 100, designed in Russia in the early 2000s, made its inaugural commercial flight in 2011. Presently, over 200 of these aircraft are operated by five Russian airlines, including the national carrier, Aeroflot.
Despite its short history, the aircraft has a rather troubled history and had experienced five significant accidents, one of which involved a crash-landing due to a lightning strike at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow in 2019. In this incident, 41 of the 78 passengers lost their lives as a result of the crash and the ensuing fire.
The pilot who conducted the disastrous emergency landing was subsequently convicted of breaching flight safety regulations and received a six-year prison sentence.
