UFA, November 18 (RIA Novosti) - A Boeing-737 that got stuck in a huge snowdrift in Bashkortostan, a Russian republic between the Volga River and the Urals, has forced the authorities to close a local airport for almost ten hours on Sunday.
An airport source told RIA Novosti that the plane, en route from Moscow to the republic’s capital Ufa, skidded off the runway during landing and hit a huge pile of snow, where it got stuck.
None of the plane’s 90 passengers were injured. The aircraft sustained no major damage.
The airport, however, was closed for ten hours, and at least 15 flights were delayed.
UTair, the air carrier that owns the aircraft, declined to comment.
A special commission was set up to investigate the cause of the incident. According to preliminary information, the incident could be a result of bad weather and slippery runway, the Vesti.ru TV channel said.
