The perils of flying over Russia: the odyssey of the Indian Boeing stranded in Siberia

So much goes the cat's way, that she leaves her paw in it.... The mishap that befell an Air India Boeing 777-200LR. fits well on the famous proverb. Where the 'cat' is the Indian airline, one among those that even in times of war between Russia and Ukraine, quietly cross Russian airspace for their commercial flights; the 'lard' is Russian airspace, 'appetizing' because it allows, in flights between Europe and Asia or between North America and Asia, to Travel shorter routes and thus save tons of fuel; and the 'footprint' is, precisely the jet, stuck in a remote location in western Siberia with a knocked-out engine.

The mishap, for the Boeing 777, its 216 passengers and 16 crew members was began on June 6 when flight AI173 was forced by a downed engine to make an emergency landing at Sokol Airport, in southeastern Siberia, while in flight between Delhi and San Francisco. The plane landed safely and the occupants were housed for about 36 hours at the gyms of several schools in the city, which does not have adequate accommodation capacity for such a large number of people.

Another Air India plane then arrived to pick up the 'castaways' and take them to their destination. But for the 'injured' Boeing 777, recovery promises to be very problematic. The B777-200LR mounts the largest engine built by General Electric, the GE90. A beast more than three meters in diameter and weighing 8.7 tons. If, as it appears, the engine will have to be replaced, the only aircraft today capable of bringing a new one to Sokol is the Antonov An-124, a giant transport aircraft built in Ukraine.

It is obvious why Ukrainian companies that have it in their fleet will never fly to Russia to take the engine. Nor will the Russian company Volga Dnepr, which would have to leave Russian airspace to pick it up. Nor will Arab Maxus, another operator of An-124s, which is based in the United Arab Emirates and also does not fly to Russia. A Boeing 747 freighter could bring the GE90 to Sokol, but only disassembled. And there are no conditions in Sokol for the assembly of such an engine.

In short, the recovery of the plane, for Air India, could prove particularly complex. Meanwhile, the Indian company has stopped flying its planes within Russian airspace. Wanting to conclude by quoting another proverb, one could say that he closed the barn when the oxen had already run away.

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