In Moscow's Zhukovsky airport, an emergency occurred: the newest domestic airliner MS-21-300 rolled out of the runway. It was tested, during which they simulated an aborted flight due to the failure of one engine.
The incident did not affect the operation of the airport, there were no injuries, and an initial inspection showed that the airliner was not damaged. As he writes Interfax with reference to informed sources, the flight took place as part of the test program. The aircraft was operated by experienced test pilots, except for the crew, there was no one on board.
Today, tests were conducted to simulate the failure of one engine in the air. Some time after takeoff, the crew turned off the right engine, carried out all the necessary procedures for interrupting the flight and went to land. However, for an unknown reason, the plane could not slow down and rolled out of the runway. Judging by the photos and videos published on the Web [...], the speed at the end of the strip was quite high — the MS-21 rolled over the virgin land for more than 100 meters.
It is noteworthy that after stopping the car, the crew started the auxiliary power plant, but the reverse of the left engine did not close. Perhaps this was done in order to inspect the units on the spot, or maybe due to some technical malfunction, including the one that led to rolling out. You can also clearly see the depth of snow on which the airliner stopped: snowdrifts reach the engine hoods, and the wheels of the front landing gear are completely buried in virgin soil.
Screenshot of an amateur video
Image source: anna-news
Note that the only functioning runway 12/30 of Zhukovsky Airport is the longest in Europe and the third longest in the world. Its almost 5.5 thousand meters is more than enough for takeoff and landing of any existing airliner, including the heaviest models like the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747. It is difficult to imagine the reason why the relatively small MS-21-300 could not brake even on one engine.
Nevertheless, it is incorrect to make assumptions before the official reasons for the emergency are announced. There are many factors that could affect the roll-out of the aircraft on the snow virgin land, without unnecessary risk in this case. It is possible that the concrete strip was not cleared for the entire length of 5.4 kilometers, but only for 70-80%. This space with a margin is enough for takeoff and landing of any aircraft. It is possible that the crew made a mistake or the weather conditions affected.
The MC in trouble-21-300 — the first flight copy of the model with the factory number 73051, proudly bearing the name of the legendary aircraft designer Alexander Yakovlev. It first flew in May 2017 and has been actively involved in testing ever since. Recall that the MS-21 will have to push the medium-haul narrow-body airliners of the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 families in the domestic market .