On December 29, 2012, an airliner crashed on the Kievskoye Highway, rolling out of the runway located at Vnukovo Airport, and breaking all the protective fences. As a result of this plane crash, five people were killed and three others were injured. There were a lot of guesses about the causes of the tragedy, but exhaustive information did not appear immediately, although it was very much expected.
In this article, you will get acquainted with the causes of the tragedy, announced by the Interstate Aviation Committee, and find out how large the proportion of the human factor was in what happened.
The event that blew up the airwaves
Plane crash! Vnukovo, December 29! These words spread all over Russia and the world with the speed of lightning. The headlines in the newspapers and the hottest news stories in the media all screamed the same thing. What really happened? How did this terrible event happen and what led to the tragedy? More than one specialist tried to answer these questions, and everyone expressedyour own opinion. The main versions concerned possible technical malfunctions, fire on board, and the human factor appeared among the assumptions. The official statement came only two months after the tragedy.
Filling gaps in knowledge
At 16:35 Moscow time on December 29, 2012, there was a plane crash at Vnukovo airport. Liner TU-204, owned by Russian airline Red Wings, followed from Pardubice (Czech Republic). Until the moment of landing, the flight was not just normal, but even excellent. And just before landing, problems arose. The plane, after a hard landing, destroyed the protective structures and flew directly onto the track, which is quite busy and dense traffic.
These names you need to know
There were only 8 crew members on board the airliner at the time of the crash at Vnukovo. These are G. D. Shmelev - aircraft commander, E. I. Astashenkov - co-pilot, I. N. Fisenko - flight engineer, T. A. Penkina, E. M. Zhigalina, A. A. Izosimov, K. S. Baranova and D. Yu. Vinokurov - flight attendants. If we believe the data received after a long investigation, then only one person from the entire crew was not fully competent and was deceived into its composition.
How it was
On that day, as, in principle, and on any day when disasters occur, no one expected trouble. The crew took off from the Czech Republic, and on the Kiev highway, as usual, it was verylively movement. Many argue that it was possible to avoid a huge number of victims only thanks to the intervention of higher powers. And how could it be otherwise if a liner weighing more than 60 tons falls on a busy highway and falls apart into three parts? Victims are always scary, but given the scale of what happened, there could have been not only dozens, but even hundreds of times more. Traffic on the highway was stopped for a couple of hours. Thanks to the prompt actions of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, it was restored very quickly.
Conclusion of the Air Crash Investigation Commission
The Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC), which conducted the investigation of the crashes, on March 3, 2014, announced and published the verdict on the incident. It should be noted that not only specialists in this industry were involved in the work, but also the creators of aircraft of this type.
When the air crashes were being investigated, JSC Tupolev, which manufactures the Tu-204, informed that this type of aircraft may have problems with brakes. This fact was recorded on December 21, 2012 in Tolmachevo, shortly before the tragedy in Vnukovo.
Irrefutable facts have become public. Now we know exactly what caused the Tu-204 plane crash in Vnukovo.
MAK stated that the cause of the disaster was technical problems in the reverse mechanism, and on two engines at once, as well as incorrect actions of the crew, including their inconsistency in a critical situation.
Falsification of documents is the cause of deaths
While searching for the causes that caused the plane crash in Vnukovo, the fact was revealed that the co-pilot provided a protocol for determining the level of language competence and a certificate, which were falsified. This terrible truth was subsequently confirmed by the rector of UVAU GA. The reason for a more detailed analysis of competence was the recording of conversations on the ship between pilots during the introduction of the arrival procedure, as well as the lack of information from the co-pilot about speeding and angle of attack during the landing approach.
Last minutes
According to information received from official sources, the landing was made by the crew commander. This also confirms the braking, which was carried out on the left side. As a result, the reverse did not turn on, and the manual release of the spoilers was never made. How could everything have happened? In the case of the release of the spoilers, there would immediately be a mandatory compression of the landing gear, the inclusion of a reverse and, as a result, the braking of the liner by brakes on the main wheels. And that's it! There would be no talk of any catastrophe and no threat to people's lives! Everyone would be alive! For some time, the crew still tried to start the reverse, this led to a temporary start of the engines, and only with the help of stop valves they were turned off. However, all efforts eventually came to naught - disaster, unfortunately, could not be avoided.
After making a hard landing, the liner crossed the runway andrammed the fence on the Kiev highway at a speed of 190 km / h, which led to the collapse of the ship into several parts. This is how the plane crash happened in Vnukovo.
Fortunately, no vehicles were damaged. The liner blocked the highway, which completely blocked traffic, forming large traffic jams, after only a few hours, traffic was restored, but not completely.
Who managed to stay alive
Unfortunately, but the plane crash in Vnukovo was not without casu alties. Of the eight crew members, only three survived. This is A. A. Izosimov - a foreman-flight attendant, K. S. Baranova - a flight attendant, D. Yu. Vinokurov - a flight attendant.
Unfortunately, these people died in a plane crash: T. A. Penkina, a flight attendant, died in the hospital due to injuries incompatible with life; E. M. Zhigalina - flight attendant, died in the Moscow city hospital; I. N. Fisenko - flight engineer, E. I. Astashenkov - co-pilot, were found dead by rescuers; G. D. Shmelev, the crew commander, was missing for some time, but soon his body was found near the crashed liner.
It's not easy enough to find the real reasons and it's very easy to blame someone. Unfortunately, only after the tragedy can we say that the plane crash could have been avoided, and only now we know what measures should have been taken, but this is already a fait accompli. The worst thing is that people died in a plane crash, and human life cannot be returned. take careyourself!
