An S7 Siberia Airlines flight was forced to return to Moscow Domodedovo Airport yesterday after experiencing a bird strike while climbing after takeoff. The crew of the Dalaman bound flight decided to return to Moscow after an engine began to vibrate.
S7 Bird strike causes engine vibrations
As reported by The Aviation Herald, on Friday, September 11, an S7 Siberian Airlines Airbus A320-200 that was operating flight S7-3745 from Moscow Domodedovo Airport (DME) to Dalaman Airport (DLM) in Turkey experienced a bird strike. The strike happened shortly after the seven-year-old A320, registration VP-BOJ, took off from runway 32R.
As the aircraft was climbing, the crew reported that one of the CFM56 engines had begun to vibrate. They decided to stop the climb at 9,000 feet and return to Domodedovo Airport, where the aircraft landed safely on runway 32L around 40 minutes after having taken off. An A320-200, registration VQ-BRD replaced the plane, and the flight finally arrived in Dalaman with a 3.5-hour delay.
Recent S7 incidents
Yesterday's bird strike isn't the only incident to have involved S7 Siberia Airlines recently. Last month, S7 made international headlines when the Russian opposition leader, Alexey Navalny, was taken seriously ill on an S7 Boeing 737 flight from Tomsk to Moscow. Mr. Navalny had been the victim of suspected novichok poisoning that is thought to have been intended to kill him. However, he emerged from a coma last week and is recovering in hospital.
On a lighter note, on August 17, as an S7 A320neo flying across Russia from Novosibirsk to Magadan was on its final approach, a large bear was spotted on the runway. Fortunately, the crew saw the bear in time and initiated a go-around. The aircraft landed safely.
In July this year, an S7 A320 lost separation from an Emirates Boeing 777 near Rostov. The aircraft were on a collision course and, at one point, had a horizontal separation of 3.8 nautical miles and a vertical separation of just 500 feet. As the crews implemented emergency procedures, an air traffic controller activated a short-term collision alert. Russia's Southern Transport Prosecution Office initiated an investigation into the near-miss.
In yet another incident in January this year, the engine of an S7 A321 caught fire shortly before taking off from Novosibirsk on a flight to Vietnam. The crew was able to activate the fire-extinguishing system and take the aircraft back to its parking lot. Nobody was injured and the passengers resumed their journey in a replacement aircraft after a 12-hour delay.
About S7 Siberia Airlines
S7 Siberia Airlines is Russia's largest domestic airline and has been a oneworld alliance member since 2010. According to Planespotters.net, the carrier currently operates a fleet of 104 aircraft comprised of 12 Airbus A319s, 42 A320s, 11 A321s, 22 Boeing 737s, and 17 Embraer ERJ-170s. The average age of the fleet is 9.7 years.
The airline has its main hub at Moscow Domodedovo Airport, and others at Irkutsk and Novosibirsk. S7 flies to around 150 domestic and international destinations, including Iceland, the UAE, Thailand, and Japan.
Do you have experience of flying with S7 Siberia Airlines? Let us know what you thought in the comments.