Sukhoi Superjet 100 performs gear up landing at Keflavik, Iceland

On Jul. 21, 2013, a Sukhoi Superjet 100, registration 97005, performed a gear up landing at Keflavik airport, where the aircraft has been deployed for training purposes for a few weeks.

The aircraft was performing touch and gos on runway 11/29 before the emergency broke up. The route it followed until the belly landing can be seen on Flightradar24.com.

Image credit: FR24.com

According to some reports, yet to be confirmed, the civil plane was performing ILS CATIII landing practice with simulated engine down, and a wind of 24 knots.

Image credit: Eggert Norðdahl (photo below depicts the aircraft performing touch and gos at Keflavik some days before the incident)

As a result of the belly landing, the SSJ-100 fuselage and one engine were severely damaged. All five crew members escaped safely,  but one that had to be hospitalized (with minor injuries).

Keflavik is the airport used by NATO to perform Iceland Air Policing missions.

On May 9, 2012, another SSJ-100 crashed in Indonesia during a demo flight, causing the death of 46 people on board.

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About David Cenciotti

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David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.