Hair-raising: Footage shows door of Russian plane wide open, with hats and luggage sucked into the freezing void

9 January 2023, 21:11

Terrifying footage shows a Russian plane with its rear door wide open as it travelled through one of the world's coldest regions.

The An-26 aircraft was travelling from the remote village of Magan in the Sakha Republic, in Russia's far north-east, to Magadan, the centre of a notorious former Soviet work camp.

The door of the plane, which was carrying 31 people including six crew members, flew off during take-off, whipping passenger's hats off and sucking the luggage out into the air.

Footage shared by one of the passengers shows him sitting calmly in his seat and grinning, as a curtain by the open door flaps wildly behind him.

A Russian plane door opened mid-flight.mp4

Miraculously, none of the people onboard were hurt, and all were protected from the freezing temperatures outside by their coats.

After the cabin was re-pressurised, the plane turned back around and successfully landed again in Magan, where temperatures were around -41C.

"Fortunately, the 25 people on board, including the crew, were unharmed, a local report said.

"The caps off some people's heads flew into the white void."

Russian investigators are looking into the cause of the incident.

A report in local publication Nedalny Vostok, which shared the footage on its Telegram page, said: "Judging by the video, the plane was millimetres from catastrophe.

"It's obvious that the plane was able to avoid a tragedy because the door did not open further."

The publication went on to criticise IrAero, the airline operating the plane, for allowing the "scrap metal" aircraft to take off in such a poor condition.