Plane crashes after hitting flock of gulls

A Russian passenger plane last week made an emergency landing in a cornfield near Moscow after striking a flock of gulls.

At least 74 people were injured in the incident, which saw the plane land with its engines off and landing gear retracted, emergency officials said. The Ural Airlines Airbus 321 was travelling to Simferopol in Crimea when it hit the flock of gulls – speculated to be Caspian – shortly after take-off, disrupting its engines.

It's thought that the flock of birds that brought down the plane were Caspian Gulls (Sean Ronayne).

Russian state media has dubbed the landing the "miracle over Ramensk". The Kremlin on Thursday 15 August hailed the pilots as heroes for "saving people's lives and landing the plane". A spokesman said they would receive state awards soon.

The airline said the plane was significantly damaged and would not fly again. An official investigation is under way. The plane had more than 230 passengers and crew on board when the birds were reportedly sucked into its engines and the crew immediately decided to land.

An unnamed passenger told state TV the plane started to shake violently after take-off: "Five seconds later, the lights on the right side of the plane started flashing and there was a smell of burning. Then we landed and everyone ran away."

Air transport agency Rosaviatsia said the plane landed in a cornfield 0.62 miles from the runway at Zhukovsky International Airport, with its engines off and landing gear retracted. Passengers were evacuated from the plane, with 74 of them then seeking medical treatment, according to Russia's emergencies ministry. Nineteen children were among those reported injured. One person remains in hospital, according to Russian media reports.