MOSCOW, January 31 (Sputnik) — Three employees who in November took part in pushing a plane that had its chassis frozen to the runway in the Siberian town of Igarka have been fired, the West Siberian Transportation Prosecutor's Office announced on Friday.
"The aviation safety inspector, the ground service specialist and the on-duty gauger have been fired, their immediate superiors, the airport's management, and also the air steward have been disciplined," the prosecutor's office announced.
Social media users debated the firing.
"It seems like people were fired for nothing, formally!" said one.
"And the fact that they abused discretion at work, violating safety procedures is not enough?" another user responded.
In addition, the air steward and the aviation safety inspector have also been ordered to pay 1,500 ruble ($21) fines.
On November 25, the Tu-134 jet belonging to the KatekAvia airlines was scheduled to fly from Igarka to the region's capital, Krasnoyarsk with 73 passengers and 7 crew on board. However the plane's chassis froze to the runway due to the cold weather, and airport employees were unable to tow the plane. Some passengers joined the crew in pushing the 47-ton plane by its wings.
