UTair passenger plane flying over Russia requests emergency landing in St Petersburg

An engine on the Boeing 727 had failed, according to a Russian aviation source

An engine on the Boeing 727 had failed, according to a Russian aviation source (Teri Pengille/The Independent)

A Boeing 737 carrying over 80 people requested an emergency landing after one of the engines failed.

A Russian aviation source told the Reuters news agency that the plane, which was carrying 78 passengers as well as an unspecified number of crew members, had requested an emergency landing at St Petersburg's Pulkovo airport.

Russian air company UTair confirmed that Flight UT369 flying from Moscow to St Petersburg, had requested the landing in Russia's second city after one of the engines had failed, according to a spokeswoman.

A source told the RIA Novosti news agency that one of the plane's transmitters had gone off, indicating the right engine's failure.

The jet had been due to land at 12.25pm local time (0925GMT), but landed safely shortly after at about 12.35 (0935GMT).

Russia's Emergencies Ministry could not immediately comment.

The scare comes a day after a Germanwings Airbus A320 airliner crashed in the French Alps, killing all 150 people on board.