The pilot of a Russian passenger plane was hailed as a hero Thursday after avoiding tragedy when his jet collided with a flock of gulls and the engines malfunctioned, The Associated Press reported.

Damir Yusupov, 41, managed to land the plane in a cornfield, and while nearly two dozen people were injured, only one had to be hospitalized.

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The plane carrying 226 passengers and a crew of seven hit the birds as it was taking off from Moscow’s Zhukovsky airport en route to Simferopol in Crimea.