Russian airliner lands safely after damage report

[October 24, 2009]  MOSCOW (AP) -- A Russian airliner with 279 people aboard landed safely Saturday in the Russian capital following reports of possible damage to its landing gear, an airport spokesman said.

Oleg Pesko, chief of the Vnukovo Airport press center, said the the Vladivostok Avia Airbus A-330 made a non-emergency landing at Vnukovo Airport shortly before 1100 GMT (7 a.m. EDT) with no injuries.

Airport workers in the Pacific coast city of Vladivostok earlier reported finding pieces of aircraft tire on the runway after the Airbus took off.

Pesko said that Vladivostok Avia would investigate whether it was the Airbus' tires that had been damaged.

"It's still uknown whether the problem was with this Airbus or not," he said. "The airline will find out after a special examination."

He said that the airport's emergency services were on alert during the landing.

A spokeswoman for the airline in Vladivostok said earlier she was not aware of potential problems with the flight. She said there were 267 passengers and 12 crew members aboard.

[Associated Press]

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