Support The Moscow Times!

Singing Woman Causes Russian Plane to Make Emergency Landing

A plane flying from the Siberian city of Irkutsk to Moscow on Friday was forced to make an emergency landing at Chelyabinsk's Balandino airport because of a singing passenger, Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported.

According to Elena Epimakhova, a representative of the Urals region headquarters of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the incident took place around 6:30 a.m. local time.

"The plane requested a landing and landed at the airport in Chelyabinsk. One of the passengers, a woman born in 1988 (possessing dual citizenship — Russian and Israeli) is suspected of temporary psychosis. During the flight she got up, started pacing around the passenger compartment, singing songs, and pouring water on the passengers. She didn't seem to comprehend what was going on; the flight attendants kept trying to sit her back down, give her warnings, but in general she wasn't taking in the information," Epimakhova said, RIA Novosti reported.

She added that the captain decided to land the plane at the nearest airport, which happened to be in Chelyabinsk. Upon landing, police removed the woman from the airplane and brought her to a medical center. Officials first assumed that she had been drinking, but upon examination, doctors determined that her blood alcohol content was normal. The woman was then checked into a local psychiatric hospital.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysiss and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more