Pilot hailed as hero after bird strike disables Russian jet

A Russian pilot was hailed as a hero Thursday for safely landing his passenger jet in a corn field after it collided with a flock of gulls seconds after takeoff, causing both engines to malfunction.

While dozens of people on the plane sought medical assistance, only one was hospitalised.

The quick thinking of the captain, 41-year old Damir Yusupov, drew comparisons to the 2009 "miracle on the Hudson," when Captain Chesley Sullenberger safely ditched his plane in New York's Hudson River after a bird strike disabled its engines.

Russian television stations showed passengers standing in head-high corn next to the plane, hugging Yusupov and thanking him for saving their lives.

"It was quite a feat to keep the plane from stalling and quickly find a place to land," Viktor Zabolotsky, a former test pilot, said in televised remarks.

The Ural Airlines A321 was carrying 226 passengers and a crew of seven as it took off Thursday from Moscow's Zhukovsky Airport en route to Simferopol in Crimea.

Russia's Rosaviatsiya state aviation agency chief, Alexander Neradko, told reporters that the crew "made the only right decision" to immediately land the fully loaded plane with its wheels up after both of its engines malfunctioned.

"The crew has shown courage and professionalism and deserve the highest state awards," he said, adding that the plane was fully loaded with 16 tons of fuel.

"Just imagine what the consequences would be if the crew didn't make the correct decision."
"I asked what was it, and he said that birds hit the engine and we landed in a field. I was horrified and in panic and burst into tears."
"You have to make the judgment what's the best place I can fly with the amount of energy I have left because I'm not getting any more from the engine."