A heavily-loaded Antonov An-124 returned for landing at Novosibirsk airport in Russia. It appears to have suffered an uncontained engine failure. Volga-Dnepr operates the aircraft, registered RA-82042. Pictures show engine No2 to have lost its fan disk and with it the cowling that failed to contain it. Other pictures show fragments of the fan disk in a warehouse on the ground, and the cowling in a field.

The aircraft came to rest ~200 m behind the end of runway 25. There were 83.5 tons of cargo on board at the time. Meanwhile, the missing cowling belonging to engine #2 was found in a field. https://t.co/OyZYofdzrqhttps://t.co/FN0SFYX5pv pic.twitter.com/pnff8Sorpg

— JACDEC (@JacdecNew) November 13, 2020

The accident reportedly happened shortly after take off. Videos show the plane returning for landing, and making what appears to be an uneventful approach and touchdown. However it then failed to stop before the end of the runway. So, observers report it coming to a rest 200 metres beyond the run off area of runway 25.

The incident resulted in a total loss of communications and also the loss of transponder signals. High energy fragments caused substantial damage to the wing root, inner slats and fuselage. Ground damage about 2 NM west of the airport.https://t.co/CmR1efQSKw pic.twitter.com/Rgqe0SRRoH

— JACDEC (@JacdecNew) November 13, 2020

The runway excursion caused the nose gear to collapse, but all 14 people on board were able to exit the aircraft without injuries. More pictures show the extensive damage on the aircraft’s leading edge surfaces near the failing engine. The damage extends to the fuselage itself, on both sides of the Antonov, in line with the uncontained engine’s disk.

Other Effects Of The Antonov’s Uncontained Failure

It is unclear if this damage was a direct result of the engine failure or the runway excursion. Avherald opines that disk fragments penetrated the fuselage on multiple locations, with some exiting from the right side.

More reports say that the aircraft was unable to communicate with ATC after the engine failure. And the tower also lost the transponder signal from the aircraft, as it climbed through 1800 feet MSL. This strongly suggests that the damage affected systems beyond the engine itself.

It is not known if the runway excursion was the result of a fast landing, or something to do with system failures (like hydraulics) in the aircraft. Twitter user @JacdecNew reports that the aircraft had 83.5 tons of cargo on board. Considering the weight, the damage on its leading edge surfaces and with possible damage in other systems, it’s not surprising that the crew had an abnormal landing.

We will know more soon. West Siberia’s Transport Prosecution Office have reportedly began an investigation on the incident.

Update:

AvHerald have updated their information, with an interview of the pilot:

In a videotaped interview the captain of the flight reported that the #2 engine (inboard left) blew up at about 1000 feet AGL (300 meters above ground) just after gear retraction with flaps still extended for takeoff, debris damaged the aircraft’s cabling and took out all electrical supply resulting in the loss of all eletrical systems including instruments, brakes, thrust reversers etc. The aircraft remained controllable despite all electricity gone and all communication, even intercom having failed, lost. The crew attempted to establish visual contact with tower, however, without success, and proceeded to land on runway 25 with very little margin due to low altitude and engine thrust. After a smooth touchdown the overrun was unavoidable due to the loss of brakes, spoilers, thrust reversers.

Update 2:

A further video emerged, showing the aircraft going beyond the end of the runway, before coming to a stop.