On Christmas Day, a Boeing 737-700 operated by Yakutia Airlines overran runway 24 when landing at Vnukovo International Airport (VKO) in Moscow. The 14.8-year-old Boeing 737-700 registration number VQ-BIP was on a regularly scheduled flight from Chulman Neryungri Airport (NER) to the Russian capital Moscow.
Upon landing at 12:00L (09:00Z), the aircraft overshot the runway by about 20 meters (65 feet). Still, they managed to stop on a paved surface with no injuries reported amongst the 109 passengers and seven crew members. Videos and images on social media show the passengers disembarking the aircraft using mobile stairs before being taken to the terminal building to retrieve their luggage. The aircraft was later taken to the apron by a tow truck.
What is a runway excursion?
The definition of a runway excursion is a safety incident when an aircraft exits the runway at an inappropriate place. This can be an overrun of the runway, as was the case with the Yakutia Airlines Boeing 737-700 that could not stop before the end of the runway. Runway excursion can happen because of pilot error, a fault with the aircraft, or bad weather.
Runway excursions are the most frequent type of landing accidents and normally occur at airports with short runways. Fortunately, VKO in Moscow had a concrete extension at the end of runway 24, allowing the aircraft the extra surface it needed to stop. Many airports that do not have the space to extend runways like New York's LaGuardia, use materials to quickly slow down an aircraft if it overruns the runway.
About Yakutia Airlines
Founded in 2002 from Aeroflot's Yakutsk Division, Yakutia Airlines operates domestic and international flights from its hubs at Platon Oyunsky Yakutsk International Airport (YKS) and Vnukovo International Airport (VKO) in Moscow.
The airline is owned by the Republic of Sakha's government in Russia's Far East, a place that has the distinction of being the largest subnational governing body by area in the world. Sakha is also regarded as one of the coldest places in the northern hemisphere, with an average winter temperature of −35°C (−31°F).
According to aviation enthusiast website Planespotters.net Yakutia Airlines operates a fleet of the following aircraft:
- 3 x Boeing 737-700
- 4 x Boeing 737-800
- 4 x De Havilland Canada DHC-8-300
- 1 x De Havilland Canada DHC-8-400
- 5 x Sukhoi Superjet 100
in 2019 while attending the MAKS Air Show at Zhukovsky International Airport (ZIA), Moscow, Yakutia Airlines signed a tentative agreement to purchase five Irkut MC-21 aircraft. Delivery of the new single-aisle aircraft was expected to be in the second half of 2021. Russia hopes that the Irkut MC-21 will prove to be a competitor with the Boeing 737 MAX and the Airbus A320neo.
About the Boeing 737-700
The first of the new next-generation (NG) Boeing 737s, Southwest Airlines, was its launch customer in December 1997. The aircraft replaced the Boeing 737-300, which could seat 126 passengers in a two-class configuration or 149 passengers in an all-economy class layout similar to the Airbus A319.
By around June of 2018, there were 1,000 Boeing 737-700s in service, with half of them flying for low-cost Texas-based Southwest Airlines. Canada's WestJet was the next big operator with 56 planes, followed by Chicago-based United Airlines who had 39. A cargo version of the Boeing 737-700 was also developed for the United States Navy and had the military designation, C-40 Clipper.
Have you ever been on a plane that ran out of runway? If so, please tell us about it in the comments.