A flight engineer who survived the plane crash told how the Belarusian hockey team “Lokomotiv” died. Flight engineer Alexander Sizov after the disaster. What's wrong with him and what is he doing? What's wrong with flight engineer Alexander Sizov
Second Life? Is she happy? Is it the joy of knowing that you have been given an incommensurable gift and a second chance, or the pain of memories that tirelessly paints all the major notes black? And this color is enough for a million lives... It is not for nothing that God gives some of us another opportunity to stay here on sinful earth. Maybe you need to change something in your life, realize, understand... Not everyone, but probably those who are worthy... We are now talking about a miracle - a man who survived a plane crash, and his name is Sizov Alexander Borisovich.
Zhukovsky is a city where a newly born person lives
The city of Zhukovsky, a former garden city, and now a science city, has found a very nice citizen... Or rather, this man has always been here, but experienced a rebirth. Alexander Sizov, a survivor of the plane crash on September 7, 2011, lives here today and is an aircraft operation engineer. This day is forever covered with a mourning veil, especially those who are involved in hockey feel this acutely. The Yak-42 plane, on board which was a glorious young team of hockey players from Yaroslavl, accelerated, but it was not destined to land on the sinful earth in normal mode. These cheerful guys, the hope of domestic hockey - the Yaroslavl team "Lokomotiv" - were going to a game with the Dynamo club (Minsk). The Tunoshonka River became their last refuge on Earth...
After the disaster, he does something, somehow breathes, walks, eats, drinks, found the strength to live on, adapted. Born in a shirt, he does not give interviews, does not communicate with journalists, it is very difficult for him to remember everything, he tries to forget. He especially avoided press attention in the first years after the accident. His family avoids publicity... September 7, 2011. No one imagined that this date would forever be colored black for everyone who is in any way connected with sports, and especially with hockey. And Alexander Borisovich Sizov is very worried, because according to his duties he must check the aircraft for airworthiness. And with the Yak-42 everything was fine. What happened? The official version points to the human factor.
Story
On that terrible day, Sizov was not part of the crew; he was riding in the rear and was not wearing a seat belt. By the way, many people don’t wear seat belts - they believe that it’s safer this way. Alexander called his wife and said: “When we land in Minsk, I’ll call you.” The ill-fated Yak-42 passed the runway, drove onto the ground and began to take off from it. Already after the disaster, Alexander Sizov recalled that after takeoff the plane tilted and the flight mechanic managed to understand that an accident could not be avoided and lost consciousness. Next there was a river, all covered in kerosene, but he woke up and survived, but he could have drowned or burned... Fractures, operations, Sklifosofsky Institute. But everything worked out, and today Alexander Sizov lives in the Moscow region with his wife Svetlana and son Anton. My son studies at a Moscow institute. Sizov drives a car, walks, he works, leads an ordinary life - time heals everything, and wounds gradually heal.
How and where does Alexander live today?
Next to Sizov’s house, which is located on Gagarin Street, there is the Vzlet cinema. What is this - a bitter irony of fate or mysticism? After such an event, it is unlikely that a person will rise into the air. But the surviving flight attendant Alexander Sizov, who devoted many years to his profession, cannot just up and leave. He does not fly, but his activity is related to the engineering maintenance of airliners: Sizov works as an aircraft technician at the Yakovlev Design Bureau.
The five-story Khrushchev building is no different from similar others. Sizov lives on the top floor in a two-room apartment. Alexander, his wife and son had long wanted to complete the renovation of this apartment. After a terrible plane crash, his wife Svetlana prayed to God that Sizov would pull through. If a person is alive, he can do everything: repairs, work, and the ability to love and forgive. He has a red cat, he loves his owner very much. And Alexander, in rare interviews, always mentions that it was the love of his family that allowed him to survive, and only thanks to the support of his wife Svetlana, Alexander Sizov, who survived the plane crash, is on his feet today...
Opinion
Speaking about domestic aviation, Alexander speaks critically of Superjets, believing that this is money wasted. Or washed. Who, if not him, should know all the ins and outs of the Russian aviation industry? In fact, there is nothing to guess here.
That terrible day
There is nothing to reproach Alexander for - he should not have been in the cockpit, since he is not a flight engineer, but an aircraft operation engineer. His task is to make all the preparations for the flight of the ship on the ground, but not in the air. And there was no need for Sizov to be in the cockpit during the flight. And before the flight he said to his wife: “Everything is absolutely normal, the plane is absolutely healthy.”
How did this happen?
Alexander Sizov was repeatedly questioned by authorities after the disaster. He was summoned to court in 2015, but refused to take part in the process, reporting this by phone. He referred to health problems, but in reality he simply had nothing more to say. Yes, according to the official version, the pilots pressed the brake pedal while accelerating the plane - what else can Sizov say to justify the actions of the pilots? Alexander, testifying, stated that he had no complaints about the airliner and all the equipment was working as usual. Moreover, the plane was loaded evenly - everyone was seated correctly, luggage placement was also in accordance with the norm. Why did the liner collide with the lighthouse antenna?
Favorite work is like medicine
“The past is slowly being smoothed out,” says surviving flight attendant Alexander Sizov. Where are these terrible experiences and sleepless nights now? Every day he spends in his native OKB moves him away from day X, when he received his second birth. But the soul cannot be completely cured. Work is what saves a person from everything: from despondency, idleness, gray thoughts. All the more beloved. The experimental design bureau created by A. S. Yakovlev produced more than two hundred types of aircraft, one hundred of them were serial ones. Just think: in 70 years, 70,000 Yak aircraft were built - this is a record among all Russian design bureaus. And although today the Russian aviation industry is in a deplorable state, and funding comes like a New Year's gift - a rare surprise, but it is highly anticipated, Sizov is not going to go anywhere. He is one of those who is faithful to his work and stands his ground until the end. OKB is the parent of many talented designers, technologists, production line employees and engineers. Our hero is one of this galaxy, and people know for sure: where Alexander Sizov, the flight engineer, put his hand, everything is in order, the aircraft is serviceable. He works conscientiously and is the pride of the team.
OKB
The bureau has received awards for its success in creating a new one. During the war of 41-45. he was awarded (in 1942) the Order of the Red Banner in 1944. Specialists from the OKB, where Alexander Sizov is now, enjoy great authority in parallel scientific organizations, since new technologies are used in their work, and the OKB itself does not stand still and initiates orders for new models of aircraft control systems, as well as engineering solutions. The Bureau works closely with service organizations of the Ministry of Defense, so that high reliability of the aircraft is guaranteed. How could it be faulty, Yak? Moreover, these airliners are used in many countries, not only in Russia.
Let me live in peace!
Alexander Sizov underwent a long rehabilitation after the disaster. The experience left scars, and not just physical ones. He underwent several plastic surgeries, his neck, chest, back - there was no living space, bones were broken. Yes, plastic surgery will correct physical defects, but who will heal the soul? It will take him a long time to stop having terrible dreams about the death of his comrades... Will time heal everything? Maybe if they leave him and his family alone and stop bothering them with speculation, questions and suspicions. After all, everyone has the right to a quiet life, this is freedom - to live peacefully and not depend on others. And no one has the right to take this freedom away from another.
Alexander Sizov, an operating engineer for the Yak-42 aircraft that crashed near Yaroslavl with Lokomotiv hockey players on September 7, was able to give the first interview after a series of operations. He is the only living witness to the disaster, so his testimony and evidence are especially valuable. He describes in detail the last minutes before the crash. The plane was moving along the runway, he said, “a little time passed, I realized that we were walking on the ground. We took off from the ground, and I realized that the plane was collapsing and now we were going to crash.”
Let us remind you that the disaster occurred 1 km from Tunoshna airport near Yaroslavl. The plane with the Lokomotiv hockey players was heading to Minsk for the match. 44 of the 45 people on board were killed. Sizov survived.
At the time of the disaster, he said, he was not wearing a seat belt and was in the last row of the cabin, sitting with the hockey players: “At the moment of the impact, everything flew, and something hit me hard, because the right side was all broken. In the water, to be honest, I didn’t see anything, I practically didn’t notice anything around – no fire, no plane, nothing.”
According to the engineer, the plane was in perfect condition before takeoff, preparations took place as usual, and Sizov himself personally inspected the plane. At the end of September, the MAC had a conversation with him. The Yak-42 engineer reported that the aircraft was in good condition. In the same way, he had no comments about the condition of the machine during the previous flight.
Currently, Sizov is at the Sklifosovsky Institute of Emergency Medicine. His condition is stable, doctors are preparing him for discharge.
“I will not change my profession, because I have given a lot to it. Perhaps, I just won’t fly,” he admitted.
A criminal case has been initiated into the Yak-42 crash under Article 263 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (violation of flight safety rules resulting in the death of two or more persons). The investigation is being conducted by the Main Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation. The causes of the plane crash are being determined by experts from the Interstate Aviation Committee. They found out that the plane was unable to take off from the runway, but took off from the ground at a distance of 400 meters beyond its exit end. Deciphering the plane's black boxes showed that during takeoff the plane's speed slowed down, which could be explained by the appearance of additional braking force.
There are currently two versions - a technical malfunction of the aircraft and a crew error. Alexander Sizov said that he could not say for sure whether the brake was applied during acceleration: “I did not understand whether the brake was applied during acceleration or not. If the braking was hard, I would feel it, but if the brake was applied smoothly, then not.”
MAK: braking on takeoff
Last Monday, October 10, at the airfield in Zhukovsky, the MAK conducted full-scale experiments to reproduce the pre-accident situation. A normal takeoff was performed, repeating the crew's actions during the emergency flight, but without creating additional braking force. It was possible to clarify the details, but the IAC is in no hurry to announce its conclusions.
Aviation experts, meanwhile, revealed some details to the press. Thus, it turned out that when trying to reproduce the additional braking force that arose during the acceleration of the crashed airliner, the nose of the plane did not rise at the right moment. A test pilot from JSC OKB im. Yakovlev" Vasily Sevastyanov: “A certain braking force with the steering wheel positioned towards itself at 10 degrees did not allow us to increase the angle of attack, which should be about 10-12 degrees for a normal takeoff. After this braking force was removed, nothing prevented the increase in the pitch angle (pitch is the angular movement of the aircraft, in which its longitudinal axis changes its direction relative to the horizontal plane. - Note "Expert Online"). And the oversized deflection of the elevator and additional deflection of the stabilizer led to a significant increase in the angle of attack, which led to a stall.”
It was previously established that the take-off weight of the aircraft was less than the maximum permissible for take-off, that is, there was no overload. Before takeoff, the crew checked all aircraft control channels twice, including the elevator channel; the elevator deflected normally. The crew decided to take off at nominal engine operating mode. The crew began lifting the nose wheel at a speed of approximately 185 km/h. After 6 seconds, the takeoff mode of the engines was set. Then the rate of speed growth slowed down significantly. This may be due to the appearance of additional braking force. According to the accident scene, the actual separation of the plane occurred at a distance of 400 meters. The maximum height that the plane could gain was only 5-6 meters. This was followed by an intense roll of the car to the left and a collision with obstacles and the ground. The engines were running until the moment of impact with the ground.
MAC almost immediately put forward a version of the inhibition. It is possible that during the work at the crash site, some units and parts of the aircraft were found that made it possible to draw a conclusion about braking: for example, the condition of the brake mechanisms of the landing gear wheels may indicate that they were braking. But there have been no official messages from the IAC about this.
It is important to understand what caused the braking on takeoff - technology or the “human factor”. If we assume that the cause of braking was a technical one - that is, a failure in the braking system, unauthorized operation of the wheel brakes - then it should be noted that the braking force in this case would have been effective from the very beginning. But, as MAK reports, braking did not appear immediately, but from a certain moment, closer to the takeoff speed. As an aviation analyst explained to Expert Online, the pilot slows down when the plane taxis along the track before takeoff. Before takeoff, he turns the engine to takeoff mode, stands on the brakes, releases the brakes - and the car accelerates along the runway. Theoretically, it is possible that the brakes are jammed, but this factor would have been in effect from the very beginning of acceleration and would have been recorded by instruments.
As for piloting error as the cause of braking on takeoff, several versions are being discussed at an unofficial level. Since there is no final conclusion from the IAC, both the press and experts are trying to find fragmentary information in the committee’s reports and create a complete picture. Thus, according to information from open sources, almost immediately after the crash, an order was sent to pilot training centers to conduct additional training with crews on proper landing at the workplace (on securing the pilot’s seat, the pilot taking the correct posture). It is possible that the commission investigating the causes of the Yak-42 accident suggested that one of the pilots had adjusted the seat incorrectly and during takeoff involuntarily stepped slightly on the brake pedals located next to the main pedals that pilots use during taxiing and takeoff. The airplane has two pedals that control the rudder, left and right. The wheel braking control is connected to them. Braking when flying an airplane occurs in approximately the same way as in a car, experts explained to Expert Online.
There is another version of the manifestation of the “human factor”, again unofficial: the takeoff did not take place quite normally - at nominal, and perhaps there were some deviations in the work (still unclear), it is possible that there was no consensus among the crew on about what to do next. It is possible that one pilot tried to take off, and the other tried to abort the flight.
However, all these versions are unofficial. As Russian media reported yesterday, citing sources in the IAC, it is possible that preliminary conclusions about the causes of the disaster will be received before the end of this week.
Employees of the rescue services of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and law enforcement agencies are working at the crash site of the Yak-42 plane, on board of which were hockey players from the Yaroslavl Lokomotiv. Photo: RIA NovostiHe was the only one who survived a terrible plane crash in Yaroslavl in the fall of 2011...
Aviation and radio-electronic equipment engineer Alexander Sizov is the only one who survived the sensational Yak-42 accident with the Yaroslavl Lokomotiv hockey players. The tragedy occurred on September 7, 2011. How does a person who became related to a miracle live today? On New Year's Eve, our correspondent met with him.
Sasha that time was not part of the crew and was not sitting in the cockpit, but at the very rear of the plane, in the last row. Without wearing a seat belt. Maybe this circumstance saved... How did it even happen? I called my wife Svetlana: they say, we’re taking off now. He promised to call back after landing in Minsk. I remembered that the Yak-42 jumped the entire runway and began to rise into the air from the ground. And that during takeoff the plane fell onto the left wing. I managed to understand: an accident is inevitable. Then a blow, which Sizov did not feel, immediately lost consciousness. I woke up in a river burning from spilled kerosene. Once again I was lucky: if I hadn’t come to my senses, I could have simply drowned or burned alive.
The plane broke into pieces, which scattered hundreds of meters. A pile of rubble - that's all. But Sizov turned out to be more invulnerable than metal. Numerous fractures, Sklifosovsky Institute. Resuscitation. Operations. He survived, recovered, recovered. He drives a car, walks, works...
I managed to meet him. It turned out to be very difficult. Alexander Borisovich basically does not communicate with journalists and does not give interviews. Like his wife Svetlana, like his son Anton, who is now studying at the capital’s institute. The phone number and address are hidden. I only found out that the Sizovs live somewhere in Zhukovsky near Moscow. The local city newspapers, which I relied on in the old fashioned way, knew nothing about Alexander. And the catastrophe itself seems to have been forgotten, and since then the new ones have faded away.
But here the case is special: somewhere nearby a person lives his second life, and some do not know how to manage their first. I was retelling the engineer's story. My interlocutors nodded, consulted with someone on the phone, delved into reference books - and threw up their hands. Just in case, I visited various public committees. And they didn't help there. Finally got lucky. The city administration found the phone number of a former employee who seems to be communicating with Sizov. I'm calling.
- You may ask, could Sizov meet with me? Still, two years have passed since the accident, the wounds have healed...
I'll try. Although the chances are slim. I know they were even offered money for interviews. Did not help. I'll call you back.
An hour later, I learned from my invisible interlocutor that Alexander and Svetlana again refused to meet with the press. There was still a chance: to find the engineer's home address. A personal meeting is a great thing, you can have a heart-to-heart talk, convince that no evil comes from a decent journalist. In the evening I approached the desired house in the city center. Next door is a cinema with the characteristic name “Take Off”. Here it is, if you like, mysticism.
The street, of course, is Gagarin. An old, shabby five-story apartment building, where Alexander ended up as a teenager. The house was occupied in 1969. Nothing seems to have changed in the past decades. Balconies filled with junk, dim light bulbs in the entrance. Ascent to the very top, of course, no elevator. And the entrance doors to the apartments are four per floor, pressed against the stairs and against each other. Welcome to the USSR.
Alexander himself opened it. Intelligent face, friendly look. He looks like he's 50. An ordinary guy, no signs of what he's been through. At that moment, the radio electronics specialist was solving a common everyday problem: repairing the entrance bell. I introduced myself. The owner looked carefully at the uninvited guest, took off his glasses and suddenly suggested: “Come in.” At the same time, he apologized for the fact that the apartment was not cleaned. This is what hospitable hosts always say.
In Khrushchev’s “kopeck piece” everything is miniature. Tiny, one and a half square hallway. A lazy ginger cat settled down on the rug. A tiny corridor, a kitchenette, where Sizov invited us to go. Wall cabinets, a table, a stove - like scenery in a puppet show. As the owner immediately made it clear, you shouldn’t count on hospitality.
They told you that we don’t want to communicate with the press?
- They said. But I didn’t come out of personal curiosity. Readers of the Trud newspaper, which writes a lot about pilots and other civil aviation specialists, would like to know how you, Alexander Sizov, live today. Nothing else. I promise not to ask about the accident.
Yes, I live normally. You see for yourself. Everything is fine with me. Here is the kitchen, apartment, furniture. And I work normally, here in Zhukovsky, at the Yakovlev Design Bureau, as an aircraft technician. What else?
I told my interlocutor how I once met a woman who, after a collision between two planes, fell from a height of 5 kilometers - and survived. How, after what happened, she began to predict plane crashes...
Yes, I know everything about her, I know. Read. I didn’t develop anything like an anomalous ability. It remains the same as it was before the fall. Is this what you came for?
- Air shows are held in your city, which is closely associated with aviation. Don't go to them?
No, I don't go. What is there to see? “Superjet”, you say? So they poured so much money into it, and the result... You know it yourself, if you are seriously interested in aviation. By the way, have you heard that this company located its office in Venice? Romantics, their mother...
The conversation began to slowly improve. Alexander told how he was in the Sklifosovsky Institute, how he was treated, how the director of the clinic, Anzor Khubutia, received him in his office... But that was not the case.
Sasha! - the memories of my interlocutor were suddenly interrupted by Svetlana’s sharp voice, turning into a scream. The wife literally burst into the kitchen. - We agreed - no journalists. How did he get here? What are you doing here? I came home from work, do you think it’s nice for me to see you here, to look at you?
These questions did not require answers. Standing behind Svetlana, also looking at me angrily, was son Anton. It seems like the accident just happened. And it was as if all of us, and not just Alexander, were its participants. What followed was a family scene, as mossy as the five-story building itself.
Sveta, calm down. I invited him. We'll talk a little. It's okay... Do you know why we have this attitude towards journalists? - Alexander explains to me, as if apologizing for his wife. - Here’s an example: the newspapers allegedly published a photograph of me from the hospital, with my head bandaged. He also got on the Internet. But that's not me. And the patient is from the next room. Is this possible?
- But this picture is very similar to you...
Similar, but it's not me.
My timid attempt to avoid the scandal, alas, failed. Svetlana repeated her monologue in the same spirit, only even louder, twice. Then she suddenly took the cat to my shoes in the hallway: “Let her urinate on it.” Alexander threw up his hands...
As I was leaving, I still had time to ask the frowning owner what kind of toast he would make at the New Year’s table.
Don't know. I’ll tell you what mood there will be. I don't plan ahead. But I still don’t have a favorite toast.
- Do you mind if I take a photo of you? Then there will certainly be no mistakes in the newspaper.
To have my photo appear in the newspaper? Don't want!
...Apparently, the second life of flight engineer Sizov was not the simplest and most cloudless. It turned out to be easier to survive. I would really like to be wrong about this. And may everything be fine with you, Alexander Borisovich, and with your family. Every day of all 365 coming
2014.
And it was as if all of us, and not just Alexander, were its participants. Aviation and radio-electronic equipment engineer Alexander Sizov is the only one who survived the sensational Yak-42 accident with the Yaroslavl Lokomotiv hockey players. Before departure, Sizov sat at the back of the plane near the window and dozed off.
First, the plane flew for the hockey players to Yaroslavl. Metal boxes and cases with clubs were placed in the front one. The cargo was secured in the trunks. I didn’t hear anything unusual in the operation of the engines, I dozed off and woke up when someone said loudly: “Why doesn’t it take off?
The only survivor of a plane crash near Yaroslavl surprised the court
Sasha that time was not part of the crew and was not sitting in the cockpit, but at the very rear of the plane, in the last row. Without wearing a seat belt. I remembered that the Yak-42 jumped the entire runway and began to rise into the air from the ground. Then a blow, which Sizov did not feel, immediately lost consciousness.
Sole participant
A pile of rubble - that's all. But Sizov turned out to be more invulnerable than metal. Alexander Borisovich basically does not communicate with journalists and does not give interviews. Like his wife Svetlana, like his son Anton, who is now studying at the capital’s institute. My interlocutors nodded, consulted with someone on the phone, delved into reference books - and threw up their hands. Just in case, I visited various public committees.
The city administration found the phone number of a former employee who seems to be communicating with Sizov. An hour later, I learned from my invisible interlocutor that Alexander and Svetlana again refused to meet with the press. The house was occupied in 1969. Alexander himself opened it. In Khrushchev’s “kopeck piece” everything is miniature. And I work normally, here in Zhukovsky, at the Yakovlev Design Bureau, as an aircraft technician.
He also got on the Internet. But that's not me. And the patient is from the next room. Svetlana repeated her monologue in the same spirit, only even louder, twice. Alexander Sizov, an operating engineer for the Yak-42 aircraft that crashed near Yaroslavl with Lokomotiv hockey players on September 7, was able to give the first interview after a series of operations.
According to the engineer, the plane was in perfect condition before takeoff, preparations took place as usual, and Sizov himself personally inspected the plane. At the end of September, the MAC had a conversation with him. The Yak-42 engineer reported that the aircraft was in good condition. In the same way, he had no comments about the condition of the machine during the previous flight.
We were supposed to fly on September 6, but the management of the hockey club decided to postpone it to the 7th. Probably in order not to spend an extra day in Minsk. Visually, the cargo did not differ from that with which Lokomotiv usually flies. I looked out the porthole. After 5-7 seconds the plane slid onto the ground. Then he took off, but not smoothly, but with his nose in the air, he took off from the ground and fell on his side... Then my soul sank into my heels...
That's all. Then the collision and I lost consciousness... In total, Sizov spent no more than 30 minutes at the podium. When he was about to leave, one of the parents of the 37 dead hockey players delicately asked if it would be possible to talk with Sizov after the meeting. Can. “I didn’t fly to America,” the flight engineer answered. By the way, on Tuesday it also became known that the crew of the crashed plane was put on the flight plan, despite the fact that at that time the pilots were supposed to be on advanced training courses.
Let us remind you that in the dock is Vadim Timofeev, who was responsible for flight work at the Yak Service company. Registered by the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technologies and Mass Communications (Roskomnadzor). He was the only one who survived a terrible plane crash in Yaroslavl in the fall of 2011...
Maybe this circumstance saved... How did it even happen? I called my wife Svetlana: they say, we’re taking off now. He promised to call back after landing in Minsk. And that during takeoff the plane fell onto the left wing. I managed to understand: an accident is inevitable. I woke up in a river burning from spilled kerosene. Once again I was lucky: if I hadn’t come to my senses, I could have simply drowned or burned alive. The phone number and address are hidden. But here the case is special: somewhere nearby a person lives his second life, and some do not know how to manage their first.
The local city newspapers, which I relied on in the old fashioned way, knew nothing about Alexander. And the catastrophe itself seems to have been forgotten, and since then the new ones have faded away. So, Sizov said that he did not notice anything special on the flight (as well as in the behavior of the crew). I only found out that the Sizovs live somewhere in Zhukovsky near Moscow. Sizov was expected to appear in court on February 11. Alexander. – Here’s an example: the newspapers allegedly published a photograph of me from the hospital, with my head bandaged.
It was marked by a tragedy on a large scale - an entire hockey team crashed in a plane crash. Immediately after taking off from a height of about 5-10 meters, the plane crashed down, leaving, it seemed, not the slightest chance of survival for anyone who was on board that ill-fated flight. But a truly miracle happened: among the 45 people there was a lucky one - flight engineer Alexander Sizov. Incredibly he was able to fly the liner.
Interrupted flight
The famous hockey team “Lokomotiv” went to Minsk on September 7 to play a match, which in the end never took place. The takeoff took place under normal weather conditions, and there seemed to be no signs of trouble. The flight was supposed to take place the day before, but it was postponed due to the International Political Forum. The plane tried to take off from the ground already beyond the runway boundary. As CCTV cameras showed, it was noticeable that for some reason the plane did not have enough traction, and it ended up beyond the runway. The crew took a desperate step, namely an attempt to take off not from the runway, but from the ground. Having taken off from the ground, the plane only managed to rise into the air to a small height, but at high speed it crashed into the lighthouse mast, and then, having flown a little more, crashed down.
The only survivor is Alexander Sizov
At first, two people were given a chance to survive - the hockey player and one member of the crew. It was flight engineer Alexander Sizov. But, unfortunately, Galimov died in the hospital some time later, but Sizov was luckier. He underwent a fairly long course of rehabilitation and spent more than 1.5 months at the Sklifosovsky Research Institute of Emergency Medicine. He was diagnosed with multiple rib fractures, an open head injury accompanied by brain damage, a hip fracture and burns to the body.
He was hospitalized in extremely serious condition, but doctors gave optimistic forecasts. Over time, positive dynamics began to be observed in his condition. Alexander Sizov underwent surgical interventions, including plastic surgery for skin grafting. After discharge, he admitted that, despite what had happened, he wanted to return to professional activity.
Sizov's memories of the last minutes before the disaster in his first interview
Operations engineer Alexander Sizov, who survived a terrible plane crash, gave his first interview while he was undergoing rehabilitation in the hospital. He told reporters about the last minutes before the plane crash. He remembered everything that happened on the plane then, and it was psychologically difficult for him to remember the pictures of this tragedy, which shocked all of Russia.
As he said, even before takeoff it was clear that an emergency situation had arisen on board and something had gone wrong. The plane could not take off from the runway for a long time, and then he realized that they were already outside the runway and were taking off from the ground. Then the plane began to fall on its side, and then the terrible realization came that they were about to crash.
Plane crash
At the moment when the plane fell to the ground, Alexander Sizov was not wearing his seat belt. He felt a strong blow from something heavy on the right side of his body. Then Sizov felt that he was in the water, since during the crash one part of the plane, namely the cabin, fell into the water, and the tail section was on the river bank. The first minutes after the crash seemed to have been erased from memory. Then the police told him how he tried to pull his colleague out of the fire - hence the burns he subsequently received.
About miraculous salvation
That day he was in the passenger seat in the last right row, so he was at the rear of the ship. He did not fasten his seat belts, and perhaps this saved his life. During the fall of the liner, Sizov was thrown out of the emergency exit. Thanks to this, he was able to get out of the burning wreckage in time. He woke up already in the water, which was burning from the ignited kerosene. He speaks of his salvation as nothing less than a miracle, because he, like no one else, knows the scale of the tragedy from which he managed to emerge alive. There was practically nothing left of the plane; after the plane crash, the Yak-42 looked like a piece of twisted iron. With such damage to a plane crashing from a height, surviving is truly a gift from above. He had to fight for his life in the hospital - he was admitted there in serious condition, with many injuries, but, as he says, the love and support of his family helped him recover from the blow.
Sizov's opinion
According to him, the condition of the aircraft before departure met all the required standards - he also personally took part in the inspection of the aircraft. In addition, he denies one of the versions that the flight was carried out in a hurry due to the fact that at that time the airport was heavily overloaded. According to Alexander Sizov, the plane crash did not happen due to malfunctions in the aircraft, and preparations for the flight were carried out as usual. As he told the press, there were absolutely no complaints about the condition and preparation for the flight, which rules out the reason being a malfunction of the main systems and mechanisms. He also denies one of the existing versions about the incorrect placement of luggage, that everything was done according to the rules.
Investigation version
The official version was the human factor, namely the involuntary pressing of the brakes during the acceleration of the aircraft. at the take-off stage was lower than it should be. This emergency is attributed to the fact that the flight crew did not have sufficient qualifications to operate this vessel, and also did not have the required number of flights in the process of training and retraining. Permission to operate the vessel, according to the official representative of the Investigative Committee, was issued illegally. At the trial, transcripts of radio conversations were read in which the phrase “What are you doing?” was heard, and it also became clear that the parking lot where the Yak-42 was then supposed to be was occupied by another aircraft.
Life after a plane crash
Today, having physically recovered from the incident, he continues to work in his profession - he is still involved in aviation. He was 52 years old at the time in 2011 and had experienced his second birth. It took him a long time to come to his senses after the tragedy, but it was not possible to fully cope with it psychologically even after a while. He doesn’t like to remember that terrible day and tries to avoid talking about it. According to him, even after several years it is impossible to fully recover from the tragedy.
Alexander Sizov has now remained faithful to his profession, with one exception - now he does not want to take to the air. Now he works as an aviation mechanic at the Yakovlev Experimental Design Bureau. He does not intend to quit his job to which he dedicated his life. With his wife Svetlana Konstantinovna and son Anton, he lives in the Moscow region in Zhukovsky and does not like to let representatives of the press into his life. As a matter of principle, he does not communicate with journalists and does not like to give interviews on this topic.
