[Warwithwheels]

Just came across this amazing piece of news today. A frozen plane in Siberia was taxied by the passengers on board!

Passengers pushing aircraft:

[libranof1987]

This is simply too cool.

Just wondering, why didn't the towing truck work but the push from passengers did.

I'd be nervous about sitting on an aircraft that was stuck in the first place :P

[CDM]

People who used DTC buses in the 80's and the 90's (and probably before that) may have had to push the bus sometimes when it stalled. I certainly have done this on some occasions. But push a plane now that's amazing.

Maybe Indigo will come up with a special price if you agreed to push the plane and helped save towing cost!

CDM

[venuvedam]

A different take

Oksana A. Gorbunova, a spokeswoman for the transport prosecutor, told the Tass news agency that the effort by the passengers - described as workers for a local oil company - was "more like a joke" and took place after they were asked to disembark from the plane while it was moved.

With the plane's wings nearly 6 feet off the ground, Gorbunova said that passengers had to stretch just to reach up and touch them.

http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/st...ome-topstories

[saket77]

I do not know but since yesterday, when I first read this news, I was taking this with a bucketful of salt. How can passengers reach the height of wings or the tail section and push a quarter million tonne plane?

[Stratos]

Originally Posted by saket77

How can passengers reach the height of wings or the tail section and push a quarter million tonne plane?

I agree that pushing a heavy aircraft sounds impossible, but mind you this was on ice. There have been several instances when aircraft get swept away from their position due to high winds when they are parked on smooth ice. Several videos of 737s sliding on ice due to high winds exist on Youtube. So, aircraft getting pushed by several dozen men on smooth ice, will surely move the aircraft. If they were actually asked to help or was it a joke, is a different story.

About passengers being able to reach the wings of this aircraft, the TU-134 has wings closer to the ground than some other aircraft since the engines are mounted at the end of the fuselage below the T-tail. So yes, they can reach the wings. Just my two cents.