19 Aug 2012 10:01

Windscreen crack sends Seoul-bound passenger jet back to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK. Aug 19 (Interfax) - A Boeing 737 of Sakhalin Airways (SAT) made an emergency landing at the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk airport on Sunday.

The Seoul-bound plane turned back after the windscreen cracked shortly after departure at 9:30 a.m. local time, a spokesman for the airport management told Interfax.

All of the airport's emergency services were alerted and firefighting brigades were called in. The plane landed safely.

The 85 passengers, among them one child, were switched to another flight and flew out three hours later.

The SAT is investigating the incident. The Far East department of the federal aviation transport service Rosaviatsia has launched a probe of its own, too.