Miraculous escape as pilot lands airliner on frozen river after mistaking it for an airstrip

Pilot error caused a passenger plane to land on cracked ice on a notorious Russian river today.

Thirty passengers and four crew members were safely evacuated on foot from Polar Airlines’ An-24 propeller plane in Yakutia, Siberia’s coldest region.

The pilot mistook the frozen Kolyma River for a small airstrip in remote Zyryanka, about 70 miles below the Arctic Circle with a population of less than 4,000 people.

The plane was stranded on the ice of the Kolyma River and was used during the Stalin era to transport prisoners to forced labor camps.

The 52-year-old An-24 plane flew from the world’s coldest city, Yakutsk, and accidentally landed on the frozen ice instead of a riverside runway at a temperature of minus 41 degrees Celsius.

The plane got stuck on the ice in Yakutia. The 52-year-old An-24 plane was flying from the world’s coldest city, Yakutsk, and accidentally landed on the frozen ice instead of a riverside runway.

Passengers are escorted off the plane. According to a report, there were no injuries

The ice is believed to be 6.5 meters thick, but photographs show a clear long crack near the plane.

“There were no injuries,” the Evening Yakutsk media agency said.

The plane was apparently not moved, although it did not sustain any significant damage.

The plane did not fly to Srednekolymsk as planned.

The river landing was classified as a “serious incident” by the Russian aviation authority.

“During the landing [the plane] deviated from the runway,” the East Siberian Prosecutor’s Office said. It landed on the Kolyma River.

According to some reports, it came to rest on or near a sand spit in the river.

“According to preliminary findings, the cause of the flight accident was an error by the crew when they controlled the aircraft,” the state prosecutor’s office said.

An investigation into the error has been launched.