Horror as plane door opens on Russian passenger flight

The rear door opened on an aging IrAero An-26, terrifying passengers. Photo / VKontakte, Авиация Сибири и Дальнего Востока; Facebook

Passengers flying aboard an An-26 feared for their life when the rear doors of their ageing plane flew open, sucking hats and belongings out into the void.

The flight operated by IrAero took off from Magan in Yakutsk on Russia’s Pacific Coast yesterday but soon encountered a severe technical problem. The rear entry ramp door began to slide open.

Footage reportedly from terrified passengers shows the moment the cabin depressurised and the opening appeared to the outside world.

This happened on ascent out of Magan airport, while the plane had already gained several kilometres of altitude.

Travellers were suddenly exposed to chilly winds at altitude in one of the coldest parts of the world. It was fortunate many were still wearing thick winter coats from boarding the plane.

Ground temperature was recorded at -33.6°C for Magan yesterday.

The plane immediately circled back to land.

Another video shows one of the passengers, after it was clear they had survived the initial shock, sat at the back of the plane just metres away from the gaping void.

According to Life.ru the aircraft involved was a 43-year-old Antonov 26, RA-26174, which had been operating since August 1979 in Soviet-era Siberia.

“Fortunately, the 25 people on board, including the crew, were unharmed,” read a report from Magan airport.

“The caps off some people’s heads flew into the white void.”

The rear door ramp of the IrAero plane began to slide open at over 2km altitude. Photo / Авиация Сибири и Дальнего Востока, Facebook

The shocking footage quickly went viral. It was picked up and shared by Ukrainian Minister of internal Affairs, Anton Gerashchenko who compared boarding a plane in Russia to playing Russian Roulette.

Carrier IrAero told local press that the partial opening of the rear ramp door occurred at an altitude of 2800-2900 metres. The plane was on a charter flight from Irkutsk to Magadan.

Due to poor conditions in Yakutia, the plane made a stopover in Magan where the incident occurred.

An investigation is underway.