A flight taking off from Russia was delayed after a pigeon got trapped onboard and caused chaos in the cabin.

The Aeroflot flight SU1730 was due to depart from Sheremetyevo International Airport, in Moscow, and was bound for Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in the central-eastern Kamchatka Krai region on Saturday.

However, the flight took off around 20 minutes later than scheduled due to the errant bird, which flapped up and down the cabin as staff desperately tried to shoo it off the plane.



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It is thought the pesky pigeon must have sneaked on the plane while cleaning and mandatory maintenance took place between flights - presumably because it's literally impossible for the pigeon to have got in at any other time.

LADbible has contacted Aeroflot for comment.



While the break in undoubtedly inconvenienced passengers and staff, it was ultimately pretty harmless compared to the impact a flock of gulls had on a flight in Russia in August.

It took around 20 minutes for staff to shepherd the pigeon off the plane. Credit: CEN

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The birds got stuck in the engine of the plane mid-flight and it subsequently caught fire, with Captain Damir Yusupov having to execute an emergency landing in a cornfield about a kilometre from the runway at Zhukovsky International Airport.

Miraculously, all 226 people on board the Airbus-321 were able to evacuate, 74 of whom sustained injuries.

A teenage passenger streamed a report from the field where the plane landed, in which he said: "I am from a plane that came down.

"We were taking off from Zhukovsky, and some five seconds after we were off the ground, the plane began to shake in a very strong way. In another five seconds the lights on the right side of the plane started flashing and we felt the smell of smoke. Then the plane landed and everyone rushed out. All is good."

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Captain Yusupov was awarded Russia's highest honour. Credit: PA

Captain Yusupov was hailed a hero in the aftermath of the emergency landing and President Vladimir Putin fittingly awarded him with the Hero of Russia medal - the nation's highest honour.

Reflecting on the incident, Captain Yusupov said he hoped the experience wouldn't put passengers off flying.

According to the South China Morning Post, he said: "I didn't feel any fear. I saw a cornfield ahead and hoped to make a reasonably soft landing. I tried to lower vertical speed to make the plane land as smoothly as possible and glide softly.

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