Why getting the Air India Boeing 777 out of Russia's Magadan is going to be a nightmare

On June 6, an Air India direct flight AI173 from Delhi to San Francisco, US with over 200 passengers had to make an emergency landing in the Far East of Russia in Magadan. 40-something hours later, an alternate flight has finally taken the stranded passengers to San Francisco. 

But the Air India AI173 flight that went from Delhi to Magadan remains in the Russian Tundra. And it is likely to remain that way for a while; maybe months, as officials figure out a way to get the aircraft out and back to India.

Why?

• AI173, a widebody Boeing 777 aircraft, had to make an emergency landing due to a technical snag in one of its engines. It landed safely, which was fortunate. 

Photos of the facility in Magadan, Russia where passengers of Air India flight AI173 stayed after it was diverted due to an engine glitch in the Boeing 777-200 LR aircraft on Tuesday. These photos were shared by the flight passengers. pic.twitter.com/hHMie3auDn

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 7, 2023

• However, now, the Air India team finds itself facing a monumental challenge. While we don't know what exactly is wrong with the engine, repairing the aircraft or the engine is an uphill task. 
• In any other place, repairing an aircraft wouldn't have been a headache; but Magadan, Russia is a different story. 

[ALSO READ: Why did the Air India rescue flight not take a straight route over the Himalayas to Magadan?]

There are two main reasons:

• The ongoing war in Ukraine has brought the tensions between Russia and the US and other Western allies to Cold War-era levels. Russia is under heavy sanctions from the West. And the Boeing 777 is a US-made aircraft. 
• Magadan is a remote location in the Far East of the Russian Arctic, where bringing in experts or making repairs on location will be difficult. 

What are Air India's options? 

• The US State Department refused to comment on the possibility of exempting spare parts needed for Air India's Boeing aircraft stuck in Russia. 

• Russian airlines are already struggling after Western sanctions cut off the aviation industry in the country from desperately needed imported parts for aircraft. Several flights in Russia have reported technical errors.

So, the question is - if Air India needs a spare part, what will happen? 

• In 2018, a Norwegian Air Boeing 737 MAX 8 on its route to Oslo from Dubai had to make an emergency landing in Shiraz, Iran. While the passengers were flown out soon after, the aircraft remained stuck for over two months. 
• Why? Because Iran was under US sanctions. The airline had a difficult time procuring spare parts to repair the Boeing aircraft made in the US. 

• The aircraft needed a new LEAP-1B engine to Shiraz, Iran, but under the sanctions, it would require clearance from higher authorities in the US.
• US' internal disturbances and Iran's own regulations delayed the sanction waiver further. A breakthrough only came after many diplomatic discussions. 
• If Air India needs a spare part from the US, it will likely have to go through complicated diplomatic channels. 

The engine's transportation

• Air India's Boeing 777 uses an engine from GE Aerospace - GE90-115B. 
• If Air India has to transport a spare engine and gets the approval too, there are several things to consider about the transportation. 
• Aircraft engines can be transported either by trucks (best) or by air (for longer distances). 
• In Air India's case, air transport is the only option. For this too, specialist equipment is required.

• The Netherlands-based VRR Aero that specialises in air cargo products said that their PZE engine stands pallet solution is the best and exclusively used to transport jet engines to the main deck of wide-bodied aircraft such as the Boeing 777. 
• There are also other options in air transporting aircraft engines. The Antonov 124 aircraft, super huge planes, have been known for air cargo transport. 
• But the problem is many of these Antonov cargo planes are either with Russia or Ukraine. One such aircraft, Mriya, was damaged in Ukraine during the war. Only five are outside Ukraine and Russia; mostly in Europe.
• Now, GE is an American company, a Russian aircraft cannot go to the US to get it.
• Boeing is among the customers of Antonov cargo planes to fly oversized aircraft parts and engines around the world. 

Big bird Antonov AN-225 departing from Minneapolis

📹: Minneapolis Spotting HD pic.twitter.com/LC7WpgH79y

— Aviation (@ilove_aviation) May 31, 2023

It needs to be seen how Air India manages this complicated network.

Can Air India fly the Boeing aircraft on one engine?

• It is very much possible to fly an aircraft, a Boeing 777, on just one engine. In fact, most planes are built to be able to safely fly and land one engine. 
• The problem is with takeoff. Planes need the full thrust from two engines to be able to take off.  

If Air India's Boeing 777 stuck in Russia needs an entire engine replacement, it will make matters worse. If it's a part that can be replaced once all the diplomatic and logistic issues are taken care of, maybe the Boeing 777 can come home to India a little sooner.

[ALSO READ: How a revised Air India route helped AI 173 Delhi-San Francisco land on ground in Magadan]