THIS is the shocking moment a plane door sprang open mid-air as panicked passengers feared they would be “blown out”.
The pilot of the Russian flight was forced to make an emergency landing in icy -41C cold as luggage was sucked out of the An-26 jet.
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Hats belonging to the 25 passengers flew off their heads and vanished into the bone-chilling air after the rear door popped open soon after takeoff in the world’s coldest region.
Footage shows the door wide open on the IrAero Antonov aircraft, which had taken off from Magan in the Siberian region Yakutia bound for Magadan on Russia’s Pacific coast.
The man filming the nightmare incident is heard swearing in shock at the open door behind him.
Another video from 112 news outlet showed the terrified passengers in the howling ice-cold wind with the rear door open.
A male passenger said: “A man sitting at the rear of the plane was nearly blown away.
“He had just unfastened his seat belt.
“And he was almost blown out of the plane.”
The door, used to load cargo and luggage, is normally curtained off from the passengers at the back of the plane but it was seen flapping in the wind.
Despite the intense cold in the cabin during the drama, all passengers on board were “safe” as the pilot made a rapid emergency landing.
It is believed all the passengers were strapped in for takeoff and wearing coats.
An investigation is underway into the disturbing incident.
One aviation expert told The Insider that An-26 planes twin-engine turboprop planes should no longer be used.
He said it was “little surprise” the locking system on the door had malfunctioned.
The planes were introduced in the USSR in 1970 and stopped being manufactured in 1986.
Magan is eight miles from Yakutsk, the world’s coldest city, and capital of Yakutia region.
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Katie Davis
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