Plane Runs Off Runway End

Russian crew made an emergency landing and prevented an accident at Canada's Gander airport over the weekend in the Antonov An-124-100 plane, as reported by Interfax.

The plane (type shown above), owned by the Volga-Dnepr air company was carrying nine crew, 10 technical personnel and 98 tons of cargo. The first stage of the landing and of the run along the landing strip were normal, but braking proved ineffective after the reverse thrust was switched off. The aircraft settled nearly 300 feet off end of the runway at Gander International Airport.

The flight originated in Greenville, SC en route to Shannon, Ireland, via Gander, and further to Tianjin with stops along the way. 

Running off the runway was inevitable and the crew steered the plane to avoid collision with radar equipment. There were no injuries to the crew or technical personnel on board and the plane's landing gear was just slightly damaged.

The Volga-Dnepr air company informed the Transport Ministry's flight control department that the crew was able to steer the plane from the end of the runway to a parking area after the incident.

A reserve An-124 will fly to Gander to assist the crew and join in the investigation. The crew must be given credit for preventing a crash, the Transport Ministry said.

FMI: www.volga-dnepr.com/eng/