A UTair Boeing 737-800, performing flight from Sochi to Moscow Vnukovo (Russia) with 176 people on board, experienced gear problem due to bird strike.

Aircraft was climbing out of Sochi’s runway when the crew stopped the climb due to a problem with the landing gear and decided to divert to Krasnodar (Russia), located about 100nm north of Sochi, where the aircraft landed safely about 65 minutes after departure from Sochi.

Krasnodar Airport reported the aircraft diverted to Krasnodar due to a technical malfunction.

The airline reported the aircraft suffered a bird strike on departure, which damaged a sensor affecting the gear retraction.

A replacement Boeing 737-800 registration VQ-BJF reached Moscow with a delay of about 7 hours.