Tu-154 plane starts dancing in the air after takeoff

The Office of the Military Prosecutor of the Moscow region has launched investigation into the incident with a Tu-154 airplane of the Defense Ministry. The incident occurred on Chkalovsky airbase in the Moscow region on April 29. The pilots managed to land the plane and prevent the air crash, but it seems that it happened by miracle.

The investigation was launched after the amateur video of the incident appeared on the Internet. The clip shows a Tu-154 aircraft swinging in the air soon after takeoff. It can be seen that the plane is very hard to control. What is worse, the pilots had to conduct all the maneuvers at low altitudes. However, they managed to avoid the crash, and the Tu-154 landed safely.

Reporters found out that the plane had not been used for six or even ten years before the bizarre flight. The Tupolev aircraft was supposed to be relocated for repairs, so it was decided to test the plane in the air. Instead of flying, however, the plane started whirling and dancing.

The dancing Tu-154B-2 plane belonged to the 800^th airbase of the Defense Ministry of Russia, RIA Novosti reports. The control system of the aircraft went out of order during the check-up flight. The pilots immediately decided to return to the airbase. Their experience and professionalism allowed them to land the aircraft safely and avoid casualties among military men and local civilians.

No one suffered during the emergency landing. The aircraft was not damaged during the landing either.

Prosecutors will conduct investigation into the incident with the Tupolev airplane. Svetlana Ustinova, an official spokeswoman for the Office of the Military Prosecutor of Moscow, said that the office would have to investigate the observance of flight security laws by the command of the above-mentioned airbase. It is not ruled out that a criminal case will be found as a result of the investigation.

The Tupolev Tu-154 (NATO reporting name: Careless) is a three-engine medium-range narrow-body airliner designed in the mid 1960s and manufactured by Tupolev. As the mainstay 'workhorse' of Soviet and Russian airlines for several decades, it serviced over a sixth of the world's landmass and carried about half of all passengers flown by Aeroflot and its subsidiaries (137.5 million/year or 243.8 billion passengers per kilometer in 1990). Having been exported and operated by 17 non-Russian airlines and a number of air forces, it remained the standard domestic route airliner of Russia and former Soviet states until the mid 2000s.