Air India flight AI173, which was stranded in Russia, finally lands in San Francisco

The stranded Air India flight AI173 touched down in San Francisco on June 8. The flight was stranded in Russia’s Magadan on Tuesday after facing engine troubles.

The airline provided the update on Twitter, stating that the flight had landed safely and passengers were provided with the necessary support. 

Air India wrote on Twitter: “UPDATE: AI173D TOUCHES DOWN IN SAN FRANCISCO 

Flight AI173D from Magadan (GDX) landed safely in San Francisco (SFO) at 0007 Hours on 08 June 2023 (local time). All our passengers are being extended maximum on-ground assistance with clearance formalities and provided other necessary support,” 

“Air India thanks government agencies, regulatory authorities, our staff and partners involved in supporting our endeavour to bring our passengers to SFO as soon as possible and in providing them care while they waited in Magadan, Russia,” it added. 

The airline, consisting of more than 216 passengers and 16 crew members on board, was on its way to San Francisco from Delhi when it was forced to diverge to Russia after the Boeing BA.N 777 plane developed technical issues with its engine.

While Air India made arrangements for a replacement aircraft to get the flight back on track, the passengers and crew were housed in makeshift accommodations at the remote Magadan airport. 

The unexpected diversion created tensions among the US administration, which had imposed sanctions on Russia.

"We are aware of a US-bound flight that had to make an emergency landing in Russia and are continuing to monitor that situation closely. I'm not able to confirm how many US citizens were aboard the flight at this time," State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters at a conference.

Patel later informed that fewer than 50 American citizens were on the plane, with none reaching out to the US Embassy in Russia.