When Ural Airlines Flight 1383 to Siberia suffered a technical fault with its hydraulics a few months ago, the pilots decided to divert to a closer airport. Then they discovered the defect meant the aircraft was rapidly running out of fuel and needed to land quickly. The plane, with 165 people onboard, eventually made a successful emergency landing in a farm in southern Russia. The Airbus A320 jet remains there, fenced in and under security, with Ural agreeing to pay rent for a year to the land’s owner–and then harvesting the jet for parts.
The episode is among a surge in aviation-safety incidents recorded in Russia last year, and an indication of how Western sanctions are hindering the country’s ability to source spare parts and conduct proper maintenance, writes The Wall Street Journal (Feb.5, 2024). (See Chapter 17 in our text). Some 74 air safety incidents were logged in Russia last year, up from 36 in 2022. The data show an incident occurred 9.9 times in every 100,000 departures in 2023, compared with 5.0 in 2022 and 4.5 in 2019. The incidents include repeated instances of engines catching fire or becoming inoperative during a flight, rubber landing-gear tires bursting during landings, and malfunctioning flaps leading to diversions.
Sanctions imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have cut off that country’s access to Western aircraft manufacturers, banning the provision of spare parts, maintenance support, critical software updates and more. “The sanctions imposed on Russian airlines have significantly impeded the maintenance of aircraft airworthiness and their technical condition,” said one industry expert.
Russia is particularly exposed to shortages of landing gear and brakes, and has had to send aircraft to Iran for maintenance. And a lack of technological know-how in repairing wheels and separate issues with low-quality deicing chemicals have led to safety incidents. Meanwhile, a shortage of parts for simulators limit Russia’s ability to train new pilots and run required refresher courses.
The deterioration of Russia’s aviation safety record is undoing decades of work by Russia’s airlines to modernize their fleets and turn around a reputation for questionable safety. That effort started in the early 2000s, when Russian airlines spent billions of dollars buying brand-new Boeing and Airbus jets to replace aging and less-reliable Soviet-era aircraft. The splurge left Russia with one of the biggest aircraft fleets in the world– a total of 1,031, most built by Airbus and Boeing. Russia’s total operational fleet is forecast to halve by 2026.
Classroom discussion questions:
- What are the two types of maintenance issue that Russia airlines face?
- How does Figure 17.2 (Overall System Reliability) apply in this case?