Swiss flight LX 161 on Saturday, August 17, could be considered one of the most troubled episodes in aviation in recent times.
The Boeing 777-300ER, registration HB-JNI, took off from Tokyo bound for Zurich and instead of following the usual polar route to reach Europe, took another route, passing through South Korea and China.
According to FlightRadar24 records, the flight was tortuous, circling Beijing and then flying towards Kazakhstan. There, the crew ended up diverting to Astana, the capital of the Central Asian country, after a passenger suffered a stroke on board.
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Despite the unexpected stopover, it was expected that the passenger would be disembarked to receive medical care while the 777 was refueled and resumed its journey.
However, while maneuvering on the taxiway at Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport, the pilots ended up with the front landing gear on the grass, leaving the 777 stranded.
The more than 300 passengers and crew on board had to disembark and wait for a solution. Although the Boeing was removed from the runway quickly, a new one had to be discarded due to the need to assess the condition of the aircraft.
Austrian Boeing 777 called in
Swiss, which is part of the Lufthansa group, ended up getting help from Austrian Airlines, which sent one of its Boeing 777s to pick up the stranded passengers in Kazakhstan.
The question that remains unanswered is why did the Boeing 777 take a different route than usual?
The following day, flight LX 161 returned to using the route via the North Pole, one of the alternative routes between Europe and Asia after the start of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
