Bird in engine caused malfunction on Saudi soccer team's flight: airline

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's Rossiya airline, which was carrying the Saudi Arabia national soccer team from St Petersburg to Rostov-on-Don on Monday, said that the cause of a malfunction with the airplane was likely a bird in the engine. "As flight FV1007 from St Petersburg to Rostov-on-Don began to land, the (Airbus) A319 plane suffered a technical fault with one of its engines, with a bird getting caught seen as the preliminary cause," a Rossiya airlines spokesman said. Reports that a fire occurred in one of the plane's engines were incorrect, the spokesman added. "Nothing threatened the safety of the passengers. The aircraft's landing took place in a routine fashion. No warning was sounded during the landing at Rostov-on-Don airport," the spokesman said. (Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov and Polina Ivanova; Writing by Katya Golubkova; Editing by Sandra Maler)