A KrasAvia regional passenger flight carrying 65 people returned to its departure airport in Krasnoyarsk on Thursday after crew members detected an altimeter malfunction in midair.
The aircraft had departed from Krasnoyarsk at 9:10 a.m. local time on August 20, heading for the northern settlement of Tura. On board were 65 passengers and crew members, including 13 children and one infant, when the crew identified the fault.
The press service of the Russian carrier told state news agency RIA Novosti that the crew decided to return to Krasnoyarsk after discovering the issue. All passengers were transported to their destination later the same day aboard alternative Antonov An-24 and An-26 aircraft.
Replacement flights and Siberian routes
KrasAvia is a Russian regional airline based in Krasnoyarsk Krai, a vast region spanning central and northern Siberia. The airline operates essential air services connecting major regional hubs with remote communities in the far north, where overland transport options are severely limited.
The destination settlement of Tura is located along the Lower Tunguska River in northern Siberia and relies heavily on regional aviation for passenger travel and cargo delivery. The twin-engine Antonov An-24 and An-26 aircraft used for the replacement flight are rugged turboprop transports designed to operate reliably in sub-arctic conditions and on remote airstrips.
An altimeter is a crucial flight instrument that measures an aircraft's altitude above sea level, typically by sensing atmospheric pressure differences. Proper altimeter operation is vital for maintaining safe vertical separation from ground terrain and other air traffic, particularly during climb, descent, and landing operations.
Recent Russian aviation incidents
The incident comes after another domestic flight disruption earlier in August, when insects disrupted a scheduled Yakovlev Yak-40 flight from Vologda to Moscow.
In that case, insects entered and clogged the aircraft's pressure regulation system during an extended period of ground parking. Vologda is an administrative center in northwestern Russia, and the Yak-40 is a tri-jet regional airliner developed for small regional airports.
