No One Hurt, Plane Grounded

An apparent hard landing in Finnish Lapland left a Tupelov Tu-154 with damage to its tail and gear -- but there were no injuries.

It happened at Kittila Airport. Authorities told the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat that the aircraft "approached... at the wrong angle" and landed short of the runway.

The Air Yakutia Tu-154, which had departed Moscow with 146 passengers -- 46 of them children -- and 11 crew members, made its approach to Kittila at around 0930 local time.

"The aircraft approached the runway too low, lifted up its nose, and touched down before the beginning of the designated landing area. Planes don't usually land at such a sharp angle", Accident Investigation Board investigator Jussi Haila told Helsingin Sanomat. "The plane broke some of the airfield's approach lights, and its wheel tracks start before the beginning of the actual runway, albeit on an asphalted area."

Some access ports to unpressurized parts of the aircraft were reportedly damaged, as were the flaps, which authorities said impacted the runway along with the plane's empennage during its landing attempt.

Finnish aviation authorities said the pilot of the Tu-154 didn't report the hard landing. Instead, members of the tower crew asked a maintenance detail to check out the approach end of the runway. That's when they said the crew found the broken lights and scrapes along the runway itself.

(ANN Correspondent Matthew French in Tirku, Finland, contributed to this story)

FMI: www.ilmailulaitos.fi/caafinland