An Avion Express Airbus A320 flying from Milan Bergamo Airport (BGY) in Italy to Vilnius International Airport (VNO) in Lithuania suffered a rather dramatic runway excursion, and it was all captured in photos and video.
On February 3, Avion Express flight X98242 from Milan to Vilnius was operated with a 12-year-old Airbus A320 aircraft registered LY-NVL. After touching down on runway 19, the aircraft slid off the runway onto the soft ground to the right, spraying up lots of surrounding water and dirt.
The aircraft slid across taxiway ‘Delta’ and eventually came to a stop. Usually pilots would leave the aircraft in position and let the ground crew tow the aircraft to safety, but the pilots onboard this flight decided to use engine thrust to taxi themselves back onto the runway, before vacating on taxiway ‘Echo’ to the most northerly section of the ramp.
The once white aircraft, was drenched in mud as a result of the reverse thrust still being active during the excursion. Sources close to the airline noted damage to the landing gear and surrounding areas, as well as damage to the underbelly fairing. They also reported both engines ingesting quite a bit of mud when it slid around on the soft ground.
At the time of the incident, there was light drizzle reported at the field. I’m sure airport officials were happy that the aircraft was taxied to the ramp on its own power as the runway was closed for less than three hours. As for what will happen to the pilots, it’s left to be seen as an investigation is now being carried out.
[Featured Photo: fl360aero/Twitter]
