Aircraft with Saudi football team on board catches fire during landing, but pilots didn’t even notice

Representatives of the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsiya, reported an incident that occurred to the passenger aircraft with the national football team of Saudi Arabia on board.

The plane landed safely at the airport of the city of Rostov-on-Don.

"The A-319 aircraft of Rossiya Airline bound for Rostov-on-Don en route from St. Petersburg, landed safely in Rostov-on-Don at 21:03 MSK. On board the airplane, there were members of the official delegation and the football team of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As the plane was descending, an accident occurred to one of the two cruise engines, when flames were coming out of the jet nozzle," Rosaviatsiya officials said.

The accident occurred at night, prompting passengers to film it on their mobile devices, the official added.

"At the same time, according to the report from the crew members, the pilots did not see any changes in engine performance parameters. The engine fire alarm did not work, the engine fire-fighting system was not used either automatically or manually. The crew landed the aircraft with two engines operating and taxied the aircraft to its parking lot. The passengers left the aircraft normally. Nothing was threatening the security of the flight," the department said in a statement.

At the same time, such an event is categorized as an "accident" in accordance with regulations of both the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and civil aviation of the Russian Federation.

"Rosaviatsiya will investigate the causes of the accident with the participation of all interested parties," representatives of the agency also said.