Russian investigators are examining why a Vladivostok Avia Airbus A330-300 struck a construction work fence while landing at Moscow Vnukovo airport, where the runway intersection is undergoing renovation.
The work involved closing Runway 06/24 from April and "temporarily curtailing" Runway 01/19 to a length of 2,030m (6,660ft) - compared with its normal 3,060m - north of the intersection point.
Russian federal aviation regulator Rosaviatsia said the A330 "snagged a wire fence" marking the construction zone perimeter. The aircraft appears to have been landing on Runway 01.
"The pilots did not even notice the collision," it added. Examination of the aircraft revealed "minor damage" to structural sections of the landing gear and fuselage. No-one was injured.
Rosaviatsia said the weather was "normal" and the landing in daylight on 5 June. Preliminary evidence, it added, suggest an "error in piloting technique" resulted in a "premature" loss of height during the landing.
Vnukovo's operator is intending the intersection work to be completed by 1 July by which time, it says, the renovated intersection will be recommissioned, along with new taxiways, and all operating restrictions on the truncated runway will be lifted. Work on the other runway, 06/24, will be finished in 2012.
Source: Flight International
