Russian airlines face airplane malfunctions: Engine and brake failures reported
An airplane at a Russian airport (pixabay.com)
Russian airlines are experiencing more frequent aircraft breakdowns due to Western sanctions on repairs and spare parts. Aeroflot alone has had 8 aircraft break down in the last 5 weeks. All in all, in 2023, Russian air carriers recorded more than 400 air incidents related to engine and aircraft failures, according to the so-called Russian media.
Russia's largest airline, Aeroflot, continues to face aircraft breakdowns, which have become more frequent in recent years. On January 8, 400 passengers of this carrier were stranded in Thailand due to a malfunction on board a Boeing 777-300ER. This is the eighth aircraft to break down since the beginning of December.
Before that, on December 28 in Dubai, the airline spent 14 hours changing a tire. Earlier in December, there were problems with Aeroflot aircraft and emergency landings:
- On December 1, an Airbus A321 landed due to an air conditioning problem;
- On December 1, a Boeing 737 made an emergency landing due to a drop in landing gear pressure;
- On December 2, an Airbus A321 made an emergency landing after the left engine failed;
- On December 6, a Boeing 777 smoked due to a short circuit;
- On December 12, a Boeing was unable to take off from the airport twice due to a malfunction;
- On December 18, a Boeing 737 made an emergency landing due to a front landing gear failure.
From January to November 2023, Russian airlines had 670 air incidents. 400 of them were related to the failure of aircraft and engines.
Three times as many breakdowns occurred during the flight (180 cases) than in 2022. The media estimated that in the fall of 2023, the same number of planes broke down in Russia as in the previous year.
In 30% of the incidents, there were problems with the engines, and in a quarter of cases, with the landing gear. Brakes, air conditioning systems, windshields, and flaps were also frequently broken.
As we reported earlier, one of Russia's largest airlines, which used to operate charter flights, is using only part of its fleet. Due to sanctions, 8 out of 22 aircraft are idle.
Also, Russian aircraft cannot be returned to the skies without American components. The Tu-204 and Tu-214 are idle due to the inaccessibility of emergency ladders made in the United States, which were designed specifically for these Russian aircraft.
