Passengers Asked To Debark To Lighten The Aircraft Made The Video For Fun, According To Reports

While it is true that a Russian UTAir Tupolev TU-134 became frozen to the ground at a remote Siberian airport, it is not quite as certain that the passengers on board the plane were asked to get out and push, as was widely reported.

Many news services reported that a video posted to the Internet showed passengers pushing the plane in temperatures of about 60 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. And the group appeared to be pretty cheerful about the whole situation.

But the Russian news service RT.com reports a different story. They report that the video was more of a "selfie" photo-op on the part of the passengers, made up of oil workers from the region. They did volunteer to get off the plane to reduce its weight while airport crews attempted to get the tires, where were frozen to the tarmac, unstuck. And they did volunteer to help move the airplane, according to a statement from UTAir. But the video was an elaborate joke that was created for the Internet, the airline said.

The Associated Press also reported that the efforts that were captured on video were not intended to move the plane, which had to be towed.

The plane eventually got off the ground, with all 74 oil workers and seven crew on board.

(Image from YouTube video)

FMI: Video