Passengers push own plane to free it from ice in Siberia

A group of Siberian oil workers are making international headlines for pushing their plane to free it from ice – allowing it to take flight.

The aircraft, a Tupolev-134 plane, was stuck because the pilot forgot to take off the parking brake, which froze up after the temperature dropped to minus 61 degrees Fahrenheit Tuesday morning, prosecutors said.

"Due to the low air temperatures, the chassis's brake system froze and a tow truck was unable to move the plane onto the taxiway to carry out the flight," they said in a statement.

"The passengers on board got out of the plane and started pushing it onto the taxiway."

Many of the passengers, eager to get home, got out and lent a helping hand so they could leave Igarka, a Russian town north of the Arctic Circle, for the regional capital of Krasnoyarsk, Agence France-Presse reported.

"Real men can plant a tree, build a house, and push a plane," one man shouted, according to The Siberian Times.

Vladimir Artyomenko, the technical director of the Katekavia airline, told the local Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper that they pushed until the plane could turn and a tow truck could take over.

The plane was ultimately able to take off and soar safely toward its destination.

After they arrived, one of the passengers uploaded a video he took of the incident to the Internet on Wednesday – and the story traveled around the world.