An II-38 plane of the Indian Navy made an emergency landing in an airfield just outside Moscow late on Saturday night.
Local Russian media reported that the plane had developed a technical snag and was forced to make an emergency landing at the Zhukovsky Airfield. The airport was temprarily shut down for other flight operations.
A chasis failure is being suspected as the cause of trouble. There was, however, no fire even though emergency services were kept on high alert. The plane eventually made a successful landing 'with unlowered front landing gear," according to Sputnik News, quoting a press service statement.
In a statement, the Indian Navy clarified that the aircraft was in Russia for an overhaul and that no crew was on board when the incident took place.
On reports of Navy's IL 38 making a crash landing in Russia- the aircraft is in Russia for Overhaul and Mid Life Upgradation. No crew was onboard during sortie though they are present in Russia. Aircraft was on initial test flight with Russian crew.Damage being ascertained:Navy
— ANI (@ANI) April 29, 2018
The II-38 is a long-distance anti-submarine plane with modern navigation and radio tools which makes it capable of spotting ships and submarines.