September 2011 was marked by a tragedy on a large scale - an entire hockey team was killed 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 45 people there was a lucky one - flight engineer Alexander Sizov. He was incredibly able to survive after the crash of the liner.
Aborted flight
The well-known hockey team Lokomotiv went to Minsk on September 7 to play a match that never took place. The takeoff took place under normal weather conditions, and nothing seemed to portend trouble. The flight was supposed to take place the day before, but it was postponed in connection with the International Political Forum. The aircraft attempted to lift off the ground just outside the runway. As the CCTV cameras showed, it was noticeable that for some reason the liner did not have enough traction, and it ended up outside the runway. The crew took a desperate step, namely an attempt to take off no longer from the runway, but from the ground. Getting off the groundthe plane only managed to take off into the air at a low altitude, but at high speed crashed into the mast of the lighthouse, and then, flying a little more, crashed down.
The only survivor - Alexander Sizov
At first, only two of them had a chance to survive - hockey player Alexander Galimov and one person from the crew. It was flight engineer Alexander Sizov. But, unfortunately, Galimov died in the hospital after some time, but Sizov was more fortunate. He underwent a rather long course of rehabilitation and spent more than 1.5 months at the Sklifosovsky Research Institute for Emergency Medicine. He was diagnosed with multiple rib fractures, an open craniocerebral injury accompanied by brain damage, a hip fracture and body burns.
He was hospitalized in critical condition, but doctors gave optimistic forecasts. Over time, positive dynamics in his condition began to be observed. Alexander Sizov underwent surgical interventions, including plastic surgery for skin grafting. After being discharged, he admitted that, despite what happened, he wants to return to professional activities.
Sizov's memories of the last minutes before the disaster in his first interview
Operation engineer Alexander Sizov, a survivor of a terrible plane crash, gave his first interview while he was in rehabilitation at the hospital. He told reporters about the last minutes before the plane crash. He remembered everything that happened then inplane, and it was psychologically difficult for him to remember the pictures of this tragedy that shook all of Russia.
As he said, even before takeoff it was clear that an emergency situation arose on board and something went 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 roll over on its side, and then came the terrible realization that they were about to crash.
Airplane crash
At the moment when the plane fell to the ground, Alexander Sizov was not wearing his seatbelt. He felt a strong blow with 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 aircraft, namely the cabin, fell into the water, and the tail section was on the river bank. The first minutes after the crash seemed to be 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 row on the right, so he was in the tail section of the ship. He did not fasten his seat belts, and perhaps this saved his life. During the crash of the liner, Sizov was thrown into an 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 blazing from ignited kerosene. He speaks of his salvation only as a miracle, because he, like no one else, knows aboutscale of the tragedy, from which he managed to get out 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 an aircraft that crashed from a height, surviving is truly a gift from above. He also had to fight for his life in the hospital - he entered there in a 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 the flight met all the required standards - he personally also 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 operation of the aircraft, and preparations for the flight were carried out as usual. There were absolutely no complaints about the state of aviation equipment and preparation for the flight, as he told the press, which excludes the cause, which is 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 application of the brakes during the acceleration of the aircraft. The speed of the aircraft during takeoff was lower than it should be. This state of emergency is associated with the fact that the flight crew did not have sufficient qualifications to operate this vessel, and also did not have the necessarythe number of raids in the process of training and retraining. The admission to the management of the vessel, according to the official representative of the Investigative Committee, was issued illegally. At the trial, transcripts of radio conversations were announced, 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
Alexander Sizov after the disaster today, having physically recovered from the incident, continues to work in his profession - he is just as busy in aviation as before. At the time in 2011, he was 52 years old and experienced his second birth. It took him a long time to come to his senses after the tragedy, and it is not possible to fully cope with this psychologically even after a while. He does not 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 true to his profession, with one exception - now he does not want to take to the air. Now he works as an aircraft mechanic at the Yakovlev Experimental Design Bureau. He does not intend to quit his job, to which he devoted his life. With his wife Svetlana Konstantinovna and son Anton, he lives in the Moscow region in Zhukovsky and does not like to let the press into his life. He basically does not communicate with journalists and does not like to give interviews on this topic.
