A passenger aircraft flying to the UK was forced to make an emergency landing in Russia after suffering ‘technical problems’.
An Air India Boeing 787-800 plane en route from India’s capital New Delhi to Birmingham made the precautionary landing at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport yesterday evening.
The plane landed safely without any injuries to all 258 passengers and 17 crew members who were provided with ‘full assistance’, airport officials said.
According to Mail Online, the aircraft had been cruising for roughly six hours at an altitude of 40,000 feet when the pilots detected a possible technical issue and made a request to land as they flew over the Russian capital.
After undergoing a litany of checks, the aircraft was deemed safe and set off hours later, arriving safely in Birmingham late last night.
The airport said in a statement following the unscheduled landing yesterday: ‘The aircraft’s crew requested an unscheduled landing at Sheremetyevo Airport due to technical problems.
‘Airport services promptly responded to the crew’s request and prepared to receive the aircraft according to the applicable emergency plan.
‘The foreign crew received full assistance from the Russian airport and specialists under the applicable international convention.’