129 passengers evacuated from smoke-filled plane at Moscow airport

A passenger plane was evacuated at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport after the cabin filled with smoke. Passengers were forced to evacuate via inflatable slides in the dark.

Flight GH-173 to Novosibirsk had to abort take-off late on Tuesday, when the pilots of the Boeing 727 plane noticed smoke in the cockpit. The entire landing strip was immediately blocked off and passengers were ordered to leave the plane via inflatable slides.

Videos from the scene show rescuers rushing to the plane across the landing strip. The evacuation took place in total darkness, lit only by the flashing lights of nearby emergency vehicles.

All of the 129 passengers were successfully evacuated and no one was injured in the incident, a spokesperson for Globus Airlines said.

According to a preliminary investigation, the smoke was caused by water that got into the air conditioning system of the plane, the company said. A source with Moscow’s emergency services said the emergency was likely caused by a short circuit. The incident did not disrupt other flights in the airport, according to Domodevo’s press service.