Last Thursday an abundant shower of gold ingots fell on one of the runways of the airport in the city of Yakutsk, capital of the Russian republic of Saja-Yakutia (Eastern Siberia). It was not about manna or any miracle to reward the suffering locals. A plane that had just taken off, an Antónov-12, lost a third of its cargo when the rear hatch of the aircraft opened unexpectedly. Fortunately, there were no personal injuries.
The event forced to suspend air traffic momentarily and a brigade of workers had to get down to work to collect the precious metal before it went to other people's pockets. They had to do it in the middle of a strong wind and with a temperature of almost 30 degrees below zero. The merciless blizzard caused that the works had to be interrupted several times.
But everything ended well. The 170 stray ingots, whose total weight was almost three and a half tons (20 kilograms each) and between which there was also platinum, were removed from the track and put in a safe place. Not one disappeared. At least that is what the Russian Training Committee (SK) says, whose inspectors, however, have opened an investigation to purge possible responsibilities.
On board the plane, which landed at the nearby Magán airport waiting for instructions, there were six more tons of ingots that did not fall despite not being properly anchored in the hold. The poor grip of the load was precisely what caused the mishap, since, during takeoff, it moved abruptly and its weight caused the tailgate to open. Fortunately, there was no other plane where the boxes full of gold or airport employees fell.
The An-12 is a four-engine propeller that is also used to transport troops. The one that left the load on the track belongs to the airline Nimbus and its destination was Krasnoyarsk, the most important city in Siberia.
