Polar Airlines
Appearance
For the American Cargo airline see: Polar Air Cargo
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Founded | 1997 | ||||||
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Operating bases | Yakutsk[1] | ||||||
Fleet size | 56 | ||||||
Destinations | 20 | ||||||
Parent company | Government owned | ||||||
Headquarters | Yakutsk, Russia | ||||||
Key people | Andrei Vasiliyevich Koryakin (General Director)[1] | ||||||
Website | http://www.polarair.ru/ |
Polar Airlines (Polyarnye Avialinii) is an airline based in Yakutsk, Sakha Republic, Russia. It operates scheduled and charter passenger and cargo services.[2]
History
The airline began operations in 1997. It was formed from the Batagai, Kolyma-Indigirka, Chukordakh and Tiksi sub-divisions of Aeroflot.[2]
Destinations
Polar Airlines operates scheduled flights to the following destinations (as of January 2013):[3]
- Aldan - Aldan Airport
- Bratsk - Bratsk Airport
- Chersky - Chersky Airport
- Chokurdakh - Chokurdakh Airport
- Irkutsk - International Airport Irkutsk
- Lensk - Lensk Airport
- Neryungri - Chulman Airport
- Tiksi - Tiksi Airport
- Yakutsk - Yakutsk Airport
Incidents
- In November 1945, Douglas C-47 CCCP-N362 force-landed near Tiksi due to fuel exhaustion, causing wing and landing gear damage; there were no casualties. The aircraft was possibly written off.[4]
- On December 25, 1945, a Douglas C-47 crashed on takeoff from Dudinka due to an in-flight fire, killing all 10 on board.[5] This was the only fatal accident involving the airline until 2013.
- On December 13, 1946, Focke-Wulf Fw 200C CCCP-N400 force-landed on the ice off Ostrov Litne due to double engine failure and problems with a third engine; all 21 on board survived, but the aircraft, operating an Igarka-Arkangelsk service, was written off.[6]
- On April 23, 1950, Focke-Wulf Fw 200C-4 CCCP-N500 overran the runway while landing at Yakutsk Airport in a crosswind, causing the left landing gear to collapse and damaging the left wing and both left side engines; there were no casualties, but the aircraft was written off.[7]
- In 1954, Douglas R4D-5 CCCP-H417 crashed on landing at Polar Station SP-3, Antarctica after the landing gear struck an ice ridge and landed on its belly; the fuselage was used as a sauna and eventually sank. The aircraft was originally used by the US Navy for Operation Ski Jump, carrying out landings on drifting ice; the aircraft was abandoned after the landing gear collasped on one of these flights and was found and repaired by the Soviets in May 1954.[8]
- On May 16, 2003, Antonov An-3T RA-05881 force-landed 28 mi from Sangara due to engine failure caused by bad weather; all 13 on board survived, but the aircraft was written off.[9]
- On November 18, 2005, Antonov An-2TP RA-02252 crashed on a mountain 19 mi from Sangar in bad weather; all 12 on board survived, but the aircraft was written off.[10]
- On November 21, 2012, flight RKA-227 (performed by Antonov An-26 RA-26061) from Yakutsk to Deputatsky overshot the runway on landing by 70 metres. The airline reported an icy runway as the cause. The plane received substantial damage[11] but no injuries were reported.[12]
- On July 2, 2013, Mil Mi-8 RA-22657 crashed into a hill top 66 km from Deputatsky in the Sakha Republic. 19 of the 25 passengers and 3 crew were killed, of these deaths several children were involved. 11 of the 25 passengers were children. A post crash fire consumed the aircraft.[13][14]
Fleet
As of July 2012 the Polar Airlines fleet includes:[1][15]
- 17 Antonov An-2
- 3 Antonov An-3T
- 3 Antonov An-24
- 6 Antonov An-26
- ? L-410
- 26 Mil Mi-8
References
- ^ a b c Federal State Unitary Enterprise "State Air Traffic Management Corporation", Airline Reference, Vol. 1, Russian Federation, 27 April 2007, p. 351
- ^ a b "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-10. p. 64.
- ^ [1]
- ^ Accident description for CCCP-N362 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 2 July 2012.
- ^ Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 2 July 2013.
- ^ Accident description for CCCP-N400 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 2 July 2013.
- ^ Accident description for CCCP-N500 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 2 July 2013.
- ^ Accident description for CCCP-H417 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 2 July 2013.
- ^ Accident description for RA-05881 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 2 July 2013.
- ^ Accident description for RA-02252 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 2 July 2013.
- ^ http://www.avsim.su/forum/index.php?app=core&module=attach§ion=attach&attach_rel_module=post&attach_id=397427
- ^ http://avherald.com/h?article=45961174
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23142651
- ^ http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/19-people-die-in-russian-helicopter-crash-official-386831
- ^ Polar Airlines fleet
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Polar Airlines.