Pilot drowns as plane falls into swamp in Russia - source
MOSCOW. March 23 (Interfax) - One pilot drowned and another was heavily injured as a light aircraft fell into a swamp in southern Russia on Saturday during an attempt to take it to a repairs facility after an emergency landing in a field the day before, an emergency service source said.
"The technical team that examined the aircraft after its emergency landing [on Friday] came to the conclusion that it would be able to fly to the specialized facility in the village of Vostochnoye. However, when the aircraft took off, the engine failed again, and so it lost its cruise speed and fell into a swamp," the source told Interfax.
He added that the two pilots had tried to land the Antonov An-2 single-engine biplane safely but were unable to because of wet and soft ground, and the plane ended up in a swamp.
"The captain of the aircraft died, drowning in water that rushed into the cockpit, and the co-pilot was hospitalized in severe condition," the source said.
The Emergency Situations Ministry said the accident had caused no fatalities or destruction on the ground, and that it had occurred 3 kilometers from Vostochnoye, which is located in the Ust-Laba district of the Krasnodar territory.
