Russian passenger plane mistakenly lands on frozen river

Dec. 28 (UPI) -- While flying through Russia's far east, a Polar Airlines flight touched down unexpectedly on a frozen Kolyma river due to a pilot error early Thursday, the airline said. No injuries were reported.

According to a release from the Russian airline, flight YAP217 was on the route "Yakutsk-Zyryanka-Srednekolymsk," when the Antonov-24 aircraft landed off the runway of Zyryanka airport in the Yakutia region.

Created in 1959, the An-24 was designed for short- and medium-haul airlines.

According to Polar Airlines, 30 passengers and four crew members were on board the aircraft. The plane was not damaged.

"The territorial department of the Federal Air Transport Agency has ordered an investigation into this fact," the Polar Airlines statement reads.

"According to preliminary information, the cause of the aviation incident was an error by the crew in piloting the aircraft," a spokesperson for the Eastern Siberian transport prosecutor said in a statement.