Hero pilot says landing in Russian cornfield ‘was only hope’ after birds hit plane engines

&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpcnt">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpa">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<span class&equals;"wpa-about">Advertisements<&sol;span>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"u top&lowbar;amp">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<amp-ad width&equals;"300" height&equals;"265"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; type&equals;"pubmine"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-siteid&equals;"111265417"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-section&equals;"2">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;amp-ad>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div><p>A Russian pilot who managed to land his disabled plane in a cornfield after birds hit both engines has said that a quick landing was his only chance&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Captain Damir Yusupov&comma; 41&comma; said when one of the engines shut down after the bird strike on taking off from Moscow’s Zhukovsky Airport he had hoped to circle the airport and land normally&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><&excl;--Ads1--><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>But he said his second engine cut off moments later&comma; leaving him no choice&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>He landed his Ural Airlines A321 so gently in the head-high corn that just one of the 233 people on board was admitted to hospital&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<figure id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;138335" aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-138335" style&equals;"width&colon; 600px" class&equals;"wp-caption aligncenter"><img class&equals;"size-full wp-image-138335" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;londonglossy&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;08&sol;319FEEC2-BBF2-44A4-81B8-07E7C1343235&period;jpeg" alt&equals;"" width&equals;"600" height&equals;"373" &sol;><figcaption id&equals;"caption-attachment-138335" class&equals;"wp-caption-text">The pilot landed the Russian Ural Airlines’ A321 plane in a cornfield<&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<p>Mr Yusupov’s feat on Thursday drew comparisons to the 2009 &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;miracle on the Hudson&comma;” when Captain Chesley Sullenberger safely ditched his plane in New York’s Hudson River after a bird strike disabled its engines&comma; saving the lives of all 155 people on board&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;I didn’t feel any fear&comma;” Mr Yusupov told reporters in a televised interview from Yekaterinburg&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;I saw a cornfield ahead and hoped to make a reasonably soft landing&period; I tried to lower vertical speed to make the plane land as smoothly as possible and glide softly&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>People all across Russian hailed Mr Yusupov as a hero and the Kremlin said he and his crew will be given high awards&period; He said he was embarrassed by the spotlight&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;It feels odd and I’m shy&comma;” he said&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><&excl;--Ads3--><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Mr Yusupov hailed his cabin crew&comma; who managed to evacuate the passengers&period; He also apologised to passengers for failing to get them to their destination — Simferopol in Crimea&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;I wish a quick recovery to all those injured and I wish them not to be afraid of flying&comma;” he added&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The Emergencies Ministry said 74 people asked for medical assistance after the landing&period; Health authorities said 23 people were taken to the hospital but all but one was released following check-ups&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The son of a helicopter pilot&comma; Mr Yusupov had worked as a lawyer before he changed course and joined a flight school when he was 32&period; He has flown with Ural Airlines since his graduation in 2013&comma; logging over 3&comma;000 flight hours&period; He became a captain last year&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Bird strikes on planes occur regularly around the world&comma; even though airports use bird distress signals&comma; air cannons and other methods to chase them away from runways&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Smaller birds are usually chopped up by a plane engine’s turbine fan blades&comma; but plane engines are not designed to withstand strikes from multiple birds or larger birds&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>John Goglia&comma; a former member of the US National Transportation Safety Board&comma; said the bird versus engine problem has been under study for years&comma; with no permanent fix available yet&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>He said the cornfield was a good place to land because it is free of big rocks and trees that could have damaged the plane&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><&excl;--Ads6--><&sol;p>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div style&equals;"padding-bottom&colon;15px&semi;" class&equals;"wordads-tag" data-slot-type&equals;"belowpost">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div id&equals;"atatags-dynamic-belowpost-68ed9ed05608e">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<script type&equals;"text&sol;javascript">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;window&period;getAdSnippetCallback &equals; function &lpar;&rpar; &lbrace;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;if &lpar; false &equals;&equals;&equals; &lpar; window&period;isWatlV1 &quest;&quest; false &rpar; &rpar; &lbrace;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&sol;&sol; Use Aditude scripts&period;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;window&period;tudeMappings &equals; window&period;tudeMappings &vert;&vert; 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