• Initial investigations suggest pilot error as the cause.
• A passenger’s video shows the plane at the center of the frozen river.
• Zyryanka’s temperatures can drop to -40°C during this time.

In an unusual incident, a Polar Airlines Soviet-era Antonov An-24 plane, carrying 30 passengers and four crew members, landed on a frozen river near Zyryanka in Russia’s Far East.

The flight, PI217, departed from Yakutsk and was en route to Zyryanka, with further plans to fly to Srednekolymsk before returning to Yakutsk.

The plane ended up on the frozen River Kolyma, not far from land, after missing the runway at Zyryanka airport.

Fortunately, no injuries were reported. Initial investigations point to pilot error as the cause of the incident.

A passenger’s video captured the aircraft positioned almost at the center of the frozen river in eastern Siberia.

The temperatures in Zyryanka can drop to around -40°C during this time of the year. Prosecutors noted that the plane landed on a sandbank on the river, and a visible trail in the snow indicated the distance it traveled before coming to a stop.

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