The death of Lokomotiv: “Everything there exploded and burned.” Crash of the Yak-42 aircraft with the Lokomotiv Holding Company in the Yaroslavl region on September 7 locomotive

Plane crash near Yaroslavl On September 7, 2011, a plane crash of international charter flight number AKY-9633, transporting the team of the Lokomotiv hockey club (Yaroslavl) from Yaroslavl (Tunosha) to Minsk.

The charter flight was operated by Yak Service airline on a Yak-42D aircraft, registration number RA-42434. At 15:58:36, in normal weather conditions, the plane began its takeoff run on the runway of the Yaroslavl Tunoshna airport. During the takeoff run, the plane rolled off the runway and took off from the ground 400 meters beyond its end. The flight lasted several seconds; the plane gained a height of no more than 5-6 meters, then collided with obstacles and hit the ground on the bank of the Tunoshonka River, not far from its confluence with the Volga, and collapsed.

One person survived: aviation and radio maintenance engineer Alexander Sizov. 44 people died. Due to the death of the main team, the Lokomotiv team (Yaroslavl) stopped playing in the highest professional league - the Continental Hockey League (KHL) - in the 2011-2012 season.

An official investigation into the crash was conducted by the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC). The direct cause of the disaster was identified as involuntary pressing of the brake pedals during the take-off run of the aircraft, made by the aircraft commander or co-pilot. It was not possible to determine which of them pressed the brake pedals, since this is not recorded by the flight recorders. The investigation also revealed a number of factors that contributed to the disaster.

The plane took off with a magnetic heading of 233° in simple weather conditions (northern wind 360° 3 m/s, visibility 10 km, significant stratocumulus clouds with a lower limit of 1,000 m, air temperature +18 °C). The actual takeoff of the aircraft occurred from the ground surface at a distance of 400 meters from the end of the runway (runway), beyond its limits; The maximum altitude the plane reached was 5-6 meters. The plane collided with the localizer antenna system (LOB), located 435 m from the end of the runway and having a height of about 3 m, with the LOC container, then, with an intense left roll, collided with the base of the approach lights (airfield lighting system) and trees, and hit the surface ground approximately 600 m from the runway end, and the bulk of the aircraft fragments are scattered at a distance of 800-900 m from the runway end.

In total, there were 45 people on the plane: 37 passengers and 8 crew members. 43 people died immediately (39 people from instant mechanical injuries to the body, 3 people due to drowning, 1 due to thermal damage to the body). Hockey player Alexander Galimov and aviation and radio-electronic equipment engineer Alexander Sizov were hospitalized. Both ended up in the river after the plane crashed. The hockey player was selected by the outfit of the special forces detachment at the UT in the Northwestern Federal District of the Ministry of Internal Affairs; Galimov was conscious, was able to walk away from the burning plane himself and gave his name to the police. Galimov later died at the Research Institute named after. Vishnevsky. Sizov, who was also conscious in the first minutes after the disaster, was taken away by the ambulance.

The match for the KHL Opening Cup, held on September 7 in Ufa between the champion team Salavat Yulaev and Atlant, which took second place last year, was stopped and then canceled after receiving information about the tragedy in Yaroslavl. On September 12, the same teams competed for a trophy under a new name - the Lokomotiv Cup.

44 units of special equipment and 103 people, including specialists from the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation, took part in eliminating the consequences of the disaster. All the bodies of the disaster victims were found by the morning of September 8.

The Yak-Service company has seven aircraft (Yak-40 and Yak-42D types). The aircraft with tail number RA-42434 made its first flight in 1993, had a total flight time of about 6,500 hours (which is 2 times less than the assigned resource of 12,000 hours), belonged to the Proton airline of the Khrunichev Space Center, from which it was leased by the airline "Yak-Service". Before Yak-Service, the aircraft was also used by the airlines Orel Avia (Universal), Bykovo Avia, and Aero Rent. The aircraft's airworthiness certificate expired on October 1, 2013. The aircraft underwent scheduled maintenance on August 16, 2011 in Kazan.

The commander of the RA-42434 aircraft crew had a total flight time of 6954 hours, of which 1312 hours on the Yak-42 (686 hours as commander), the co-pilot had a total flight time of 13492 hours, of which 613 hours on the Yak-42.

Alexander Galimov, hospitalized after the disaster in extremely serious condition with burns, according to various sources, eighty or ninety percent of his body, died on September 12.

When identifying the bodies of the dead, the mother of Sergei Ostapchuk was close to a heart attack. Some media outlets disseminated reports of her death, but this information was refuted.

Yuri Urychev could not play in Minsk due to injury and disqualification, but nevertheless decided to join the team flying to Minsk, wanting to support his partners. Instead of Alexander Kalyanin, another striker, Maxim Zyuzyakin, was supposed to fly to the match, but shortly before the flight it turned out that Kalyanin had recovered from his injury, and they decided not to take Zyuzyakin to the match.

Alexander Sizov was hospitalized with burns to 15 percent of his body, fractures of both hips, the calvarium, ribs and injuries to the chest. Initially, he was admitted to the Yaroslavl Solovyov Hospital, whose chief doctor on the morning of September 8 assessed Sizov’s condition as stable and serious. On the same day, Sizov and the second survivor, Alexander Galimov, were transported to Moscow on a Russian Emergency Situations Ministry plane. Sizov was placed in the intensive care unit of the N.V. Sklifosovsky Research Institute of Emergency Medicine and put into medicinal sleep so that he would avoid a state of shock. On September 12, the Moscow Department of Health reported that Sizov’s life was out of danger and he was transferred from intensive care to a regular ward of the institute. It is planned that Sizov will receive one-time financial assistance in the amount of 500 thousand rubles.

On the evening of September 7, a memorial event was held in Yaroslavl in honor of the victims: people gathered near the Arena 2000 cultural and sports complex, many brought flowers and candles. According to one eyewitness, the number of people gathered ranged from 10 to 12 thousand people. Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov, a participant in the World Political Forum, was among those who laid flowers at the impromptu memorial. Similar mass actions took place in Minsk, where Lokomotiv was heading (Belarus in the club was represented by players Ruslan Salei and Sergei Ostapchuk, as well as physical training coach Nikolai Krivonosov), Prague (they mourned Josef Vasicek, Jan Marek and Karel Rachunek), Riga (they paid tribute to Karlisa Skrastinsha), Slovak Trencin (Pavol Demitra spent two seasons in the local club Dukla).

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev proposed a radical reduction in the number of airlines, and especially emphasized that the decision does not relate to the tragedy that happened and that mergers and liquidations of companies whose fleet does not exceed 20 aircraft should take place in the very near future. Experts believe that such a decision will lead to the disappearance of low-cost airlines and, accordingly, an increase in the cost of flights in the future. The President also spoke in favor of purchasing foreign aircraft, even to the detriment of the domestic manufacturer.

The start of the 2011/2012 Kontinental Hockey League championship was postponed to September 12. Prior to this, the KHL-TV channel re-broadcast Lokomotiv matches from the previous two seasons. The channel also conducted a live broadcast of the “Requiem Evening” for those killed in the disaster, which took place in Minsk on the evening of September 8.

On September 9, the payment of insurance compensation to the families of the deceased passengers of the plane began. The amount of insurance compensation will be 2,025,000 rubles for each deceased. In addition, the families of the victims should receive 300 thousand rubles from the budget of the Yaroslavl region and 150 thousand rubles from the budget of Yaroslavl.

On September 10, a farewell ceremony for the victims was held at the Arena 2000 complex, which was attended by about 100 thousand people. On the same day, at the Omsk Arena, a farewell ceremony was held for the deceased goalkeeper Alexander Vyukhin, who spent ten years in the Omsk Avangard club. He was buried next to another hockey player, Alexei Cherepanov, who, also a Avangard player, died in 2008 from cardiac arrest during a match. The governor of the Omsk region, Leonid Polezhaev, promised to provide financial assistance to Vyukhin’s family and, at the expense of the budget, to erect a monument on his grave.

On September 11, a farewell ceremony was held at Prague's Old Town Square for Karel Rahunek, Jan Marek and Josef Vasicek. The Chairman of the Czech Hockey Union, Tomas Kral, said that the game numbers 4, 15 and 63, under which they played in the Czech national team, will be assigned to them forever.

It is planned to erect a memorial at the site of the plane crash in honor of those killed.

President of the Russian Hockey Federation Vladislav Tretyak said that the Russian national team will no longer use Yak-42 aircraft.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev expressed condolences to the families and fans of the hockey players who died in the plane crash and changed the program of participation in the World Political Forum. On the morning of September 8, Medvedev, accompanied by the governor of the Yaroslavl region Sergei Vakhrukov, visited the crash site and laid flowers on the banks of the Tunoshonka River, next to the fragments of the crashed plane. Later, at a meeting with the participation of Medvedev, Vakhrukov said that the families of the deceased players would receive “very significant payments for contractual obligations,” and also that a large number of clubs had expressed a desire to help the Yaroslavl Lokomotiv and more than 30 hockey players were ready to move to Lokomotiv to replace those killed in its composition. On September 12, Dmitry Medvedev held a meeting with the participation of Lokomotiv President Yuri Yakovlev, Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko, Yaroslavl Region Governor Sergei Vakhrukov, Russian Railways President Vladimir Yakunin and the heads of the KHL and FHR, dedicated to the future fate of the Yaroslavl Lokomotiv.

In connection with the plane crash, condolences were expressed by the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Vladimir Litvin, the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych, the President of the Republic of Poland Bronislaw Komorowski, and the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. Alexander Lukashenko took part in the requiem evening held on September 8 at the Minsk Arena.

A year ago, on September 7, 2011, a Yak-42D passenger aircraft with tail number RA-42434 of JSC Aviation Company Yak Service, performing an irregular international flight to transport passengers on the route Yaroslavl (Tunosha) - Minsk, from Tunosha airport in Yaroslavskaya areas.

There were 45 people on board the plane: the team of the Yaroslavl hockey club "Lokomotiv" - 37 passengers - and eight crew members. The players of the main team of the hockey team were heading to Minsk, where the next day a game was scheduled with the Dynamo hockey club - Lokomotiv's first match of the Continental Hockey League (KHL) season.

Yaroslav Neelov

Hockey club "Lokomotiv" (Yaroslavl)

In normal weather conditions, the plane began its takeoff run on the runway at Tunoshna airport.

The plane gained an altitude of no more than five to six meters, then collided with the localizer antenna system (LOB), located 435 meters from the end of the runway and having a height of about three meters, with the LOC container, then with an intense left roll collided with the base of the approach lights ( airfield lighting system) and trees, hit the ground approximately 600 meters from the end of the runway, on the bank of the Tunoshonka River, and collapsed. The bulk of the plane's fragments were scattered at a distance of 800-900 meters from the end of the runway.

43 people died immediately (39 people - from instant mechanical injuries to the body, three people - due to drowning, one person died due to thermal injuries to the body).

Only two survived - hockey player Alexander Galimov and flight engineer Alexander Sizov. Both ended up in the river after the plane crashed. Galimov was conscious, was able to walk away from the burning plane himself and gave his name to the police.

The survivors were hospitalized.

The athlete, who received burns to 90% of his body, was taken to the burn department of the Vishnevsky Institute of Surgery in Moscow, where he died on September 12.

Sizov the day after the disaster at the Sklifosovsky Research Institute of Emergency Medicine in Moscow with multiple fractures of the ribs, a comminuted fracture of the femur, a penetrating head wound with brain damage and burns to 15% of the body. The patient's condition was extremely serious.

The forward of the Lokomotiv team, 20-year-old Maxim Zyuzyakin, and the Finnish goalkeeper coach Jorma Valtonen, who worked at the Yaroslavl club, survived for the match in Minsk.

On September 7, the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) formed a commission to investigate the causes and circumstances of the disaster.

A criminal case was initiated into the disaster under Part 3 of Article 263 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. An investigation into a technical malfunction of the aircraft and a pilot error.

Due to the death of the main team, the Lokomotiv team joined the Continental Hockey League (KHL) in the 2011-2012 season.

September 10 at the Yaroslavl Ice Sports Palace. 14 people were buried directly in Yaroslavl, the bodies of the remaining victims were transported to other cities and countries. Among the dead were citizens of Ukraine, Belarus, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Sweden and Latvia.

RIA News. Vladimir Terentyev

"Lokomotiv" as we will remember it

By September 15, Rostransnadzor had inspected all 15 airlines operating Yak-42 aircraft. As a result of the inspection, three aircraft were suspended from flights, and a total of 28 Yak-42 aircraft were inspected.

On September 22, Alexander Sizov, a ground engineer for aviation and radio-electronic equipment who survived the crash, was interrogated by Georgy Yachmenev, Deputy Chairman of the MAK for Aircraft Accident Investigation, Honored Pilot of the USSR. According to Alexander Sizov, there were no comments on the operation of the aircraft either during preparation for the flight or during takeoff. Sizov noted that he did not see who was flying the plane during takeoff. Sizov did not remember the moment of the disaster itself; he only remembered how the airliner took off, and the next moment he woke up in the water, where spilled kerosene was burning.
According to Sizov’s testimony, the IAC clarified the actual placement of passengers and luggage: the team’s management and coaches were in the front cabin, the team was in the second cabin, and the bulk of the luggage was loaded into the rear trunk. This means that the plane was unable to take off normally due to a misalignment, since the bulk of the passengers were allegedly in the front cabin.

At the beginning of October 2011, flight engineer Alexander Sizov successfully underwent plastic surgery on his face and neck.

RIA News. Yaroslav Neelov

Memorial complex to members of the Lokomotiv hockey club who died in a plane crash on September 7, 2011, at the Leontyevskoye cemetery in Yaroslavl.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Lokomotiv was flying to Minsk for a match with local Dynamo, which was supposed to take place on Thursday as part of the first round of the Kontinental Hockey League championship. In total there were 45 people on board. Flight attendant Alexander Sizov and hockey player Alexander Galimov managed to escape. A few hours later, information appeared in the media that Galimov died in intensive care, but this was later refuted by doctors.

Forward Alexander Galimov, who survived the plane crash.

The Yak-42 belonged to the Yak Service airline. The disaster occurred near Tunoshna airport. According to one version, the Yak-42 crashed due to a collision with a lighthouse antenna located outside the runway. For unknown reasons, the aircraft was unable to reach a safe altitude during takeoff, which led to the collision. As a result, the plane broke into two parts, one of which crashed into the Volga.

The plane crash has already been reported to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who sent the head of the Ministry of Transport, Igor Levitin, to the crash site. Also, the management of FC Lokomotiv, including the general manager of the railway workers, Yuri Lukin, went to the scene of the emergency.

A criminal case has been initiated into the crash under Article 263 of the Criminal Code of Russia - “Violation of air transport safety rules.”

Yaroslavl "Lokomotiv"- one of the most titled hockey clubs in the modern history of Russia. It was founded in 1959 under the name “Torpedo”, under which it performed until 2000, when it was taken under the wing of JSC Russian Railways.

Achievements: Russian champion - 1996/1997, 2001/2002, 2002/2003; silver medalist of the Russian Championship - 2007/2008; silver medalist of the KHL championship - 2008/2009; bronze medalist of the Russian Championship - 1997/1998, 1998/1999, 2004/2005; bronze medalist of the KHL championship - 2010/2011.

Victories in pre-season tournaments: Belyaev Memorial - 1996; Romazan Memorial - 1998, 2000, 2001; Cup of the President of the Republic of Bashkortostan - 2002, 2004; Pajulahti Cup - 2002; Latvian Railways Cup - 2010, 2011.

Silver medalist of the Continental Cup - 2003.

Bronze medalist of the Spengler Cup - 2003.

Participant (4th place) in the final tournament of the Euroleague - 1998.

Successes are associated, first of all, with the names of Russian coaches Vladimir Yurzinov and Petr Vorobyov, as well as Czech specialist Vladimir Vuitek, who was fired in April of this year due to failure to complete the assigned task.

In May, the club's management "signed" the famous Canadian coach Brad McCrimmon. The team's roster includes 26 players, including goalkeepers. Mostly these are Russian citizens, but there are also Swedes, Czechs, Slovaks, Germans, and Latvians.

The main stars of Lokomotiv

Jan Marek. Wing forward. He played for the Czech national team. Played in Russia since 2003. He played for the teams Metallurg (Magnitogorsk), CSKA Moscow and Atlant near Moscow. Yaroslavl "Lokomotiv" became his last club.

Karel Rachunek. Defender. He played for the Czech national team. He became the world champion in 2010, scoring one of two goals against the Russian team in the final of the tournament in Germany. Became the Russian champion with Lokomotiv in the 2002/2003 season.

Josef Vasicek. Center forward. He played for the Czech national team, with which he became the world champion in 2005. He also won the Stanley Cup while playing for the Carolina Hurricanes.

Pavol Demitra. He played for the Slovakian national team. Bronze medalist of the 2003 World Championship. He took part in three Olympics (2002, 2006 and 2010). In 2010, he took 4th place with the Slovak team at the Olympic Games in Vancouver.

Stefan Liv. Goalkeeper. He played for the Swedish national team. Best player of the Swedish Eliteserien 2008.

Alexander Vasyunov. In 2011, he moved from the NHL club New Jersey Devils to Lokomotiv.

Robert Dietrich. Participant in the 2007, 2010 and 2011 World Championships as part of the German national team.

Marat Kalimulin. As a member of the Russian youth team, he won bronze medals at the 2008 World Championships.

Alexander Kalyanin. Winner of the Channel One Cup as part of the Russian national team.

Andrey Kiryukhin. Silver medalist of the 2007 World Youth Championship.

Nikita Klyukin. World champion among juniors 2007. Bronze medalist of the youth world championship 2008.

Ruslan Salei. He played for the Belarusian national team. Finalist of the 2003 Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks. Honored Master of Sports of Belarus.

Karlis Skrastins. He played for the Latvian national team. From 1998 to 2011, he played in the NHL for the Nashville Predators, Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers and Dallas Stars. From the NHL he came to Lokomotiv.

Daniil Sobchenko. World champion 2011 as part of the youth team.

Ivan Tkachenko. Silver medalist at the 2002 World Championship, Russian champion in 2002 and 2003.

Pavel Trakhanov. European champion 1996 among juniors.

Gennady Churilov. Silver medalist of the World Youth Championship for players under 20 years of age in 2006, 2007.

Team head coach: Canadian Brad McCrimmon. He managed the NHL teams New York Islanders, Calgary Flames, Atlanta Thrashers, and Detroit Red Wing. Lokomotiv took charge in 2011.

List of dead

Passengers:

Anikeenko Vitaly Sergeevich
Bakhvalov Yuri Alekseevich
Belyaev Alexander Vladimirovich
Balandin Mikhail Yurievich
Vasyunov Alexander Sergeevich
Vasicek Josef
Vyukhin Alexander Evgenievich
Dietrich Robert Genrikhovich
Demitra Pavol
Zimin Andrey Valerievich
Kalimulin Marat Natfullovich
Karpovtsev Alexander Georgievich
Kalyanin Alexander Igorevich
Kiryukhin Andrey Anatolievich
Klyukin Nikita Sergeevich
Korolev Igor Borisovich
Krivonosov Nikolay Ivanovich
Kunnov Evgeniy Gennadievich
Kuznetsov Vyacheslav Mikhailovich
Liv Stefan Daniel Patrick
Marek Jan
McCrimmon Brad Byron
Ostapchuk Sergei Igorevich
Piskunov Vladimir Leonidovich
Rachunek Karel
Sidorov Evgeniy Vladimirovich
Skrastins Karlis Martinovich
Snurnitsyn Pavel Sergeevich
Sobchenko Daniil Evgenievich
Tkachenko Ivan Leonidovich
Trakhanov Pavel Sergeevich
Urychev Yuri Olegovich
Churilov Gennady Stanislavovich
Shuvalov Maxim Alekseevich
Yarchuk Artyom Nikolaevich

Solomentsev Andrey Anatolyevich, commander
Zhivelov Igor Konstantinovich, 2nd pilot
Zhuravlev Sergey Vasilievich, flight mechanic
Elena Aleksandrovna Sarmatova, flight attendant
Maksumova Nadezhda Murzafarovna, flight attendant
Shavina Elena Mikhailovna, flight attendant
Matyushin Vladimir Yurievich, flight mechanic

Survivors:

Sizov Alexander Borisovich, flight attendant
Galimov Alexander Saidgereevich, hockey player

The fate of another Lokomotiv hockey player, Ruslan Salei, is unknown. The media wrote that he was not on the plane, supposedly Salei was waiting for the team in Minsk. Later, the Ministry of Emergency Situations reported that the hockey player was on the list of dead. The name Salei does not appear in the published lists.

Plane crashes in which athletes died

One of the most tragic was the plane crash in the sky over Dneprodzerzhinsk on August 11, 1979. On that day, two Tu-134 scheduled passenger aircraft collided. In one of them, the Pakhtakor team flew from Tashkent to the USSR championship match in Minsk. Along with 17 club members, 172 people died in that plane crash.

Another plane crash claimed the lives of 11 of the most talented CSK Air Force hockey players, their coach, doctor and massage therapist. On January 7, 1950, a Li-2 (Douglas) plane crashed at the Sverdlovsk Koltsovo airport, on which the hockey players flew to Chelyabinsk for a match with the Dzerzhinets team (the current Traktor). Only Vsevolod Bobrov, who was late for the flight, survived. The CSK Air Force team was assembled by Vasily Stalin himself.

On February 6, 1958, 8 Manchester United football players, 3 team managers, 8 journalists and 2 crew members were killed in a plane crash.

Already in 2006, as a result of the A310 crash in Irkutsk, the general director of the Moscow hockey club Spartak, Vadim Melkov, died. He was appointed to the position of general director of the club a month before his death.

As a result of a plane crash in 2011 near Petrozavodsk, FIFA referee Vladimir Pettai died. His last match at the national level as a referee was the hundredth in his career, and he was able to become the 22nd “centurion” of the Russian championships. It was the game of the 13th round of the Russian championship between Rubin and Dynamo.

What is the Yak-42

The Yak-42 is a medium-range three-engine passenger aircraft developed in the USSR in the mid-1970s to replace the Tu-134. The first flight took place in March 1975. Start of operation - December 22, 1980. Produced until 2002. A total of 188 aircraft were produced. Cruising speed - 810 km/h. Flight range - 2900 km. Number of passengers - 120.

Today, the wear and tear of the Russian Yak-42 fleet is approximately 50%, which is much better than that of a number of other Russian aircraft produced in the USSR.

As of September 7, 2011, 9 Yak-42 aircraft were lost and 562 people were killed.

Photo:

Eight years have passed since the terrible plane crash in the village of Tunoshna near Yaroslavl. On September 7, 2011, the Yak-42, which in addition to the crew included coaches and players of the Lokomotiv hockey team, crashed during takeoff. But, no matter how difficult it was, that day we carefully followed the emerging information from the scene of the tragedy. A year after the disaster, the chief specialist expert of the Cultural Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Yaroslavl Region, Alexander Shikhanov (at that time he headed the press service of the regional police) published a chronicle of how that day went for him - he was one of those who were allowed into the place crashes. We are publishing this chronicle today:

September 7, 2011 started out well. On this day, the International Political Forum officially opened in Yaroslavl under the patronage of the President of Russia. Most of the forum participants arrived and flew to Yaroslavl the day before, and already in the morning speeches and discussions by politicians started at Arena-2000. We held a press conference with the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs dedicated to the protection of law and order during the forum, prepared articles in the media, and stories on television. The only thing left to do was to prepare publications about police work directly on the forum. Together with my colleague Anton Smirnov we went to the Arena. We took several photographs of police officers near Arena 2000 and filmed a video. Time flew by quickly.

Somewhere after 14:00 I decided to go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The weather was beautiful, the sun was shining brightly. Walking along Institutskaya Street up to Moskovsky Prospekt, I met Lokomotiv’s commercial director Evgeny Chuev. We exchanged a few words with him about the forum and the prospects for Lokomotiv in the beginning season. I remember the feeling of joy and peace that I had then.

Things got busy in the office, as always. Time flies quickly at work. At the beginning of five o'clock the phone rang, which sharply divided this whole day, and life, into before and after.

16:02
The crash of a Yak-42 plane near Tunoshna airport.

The correspondent of the NTM TV channel Seryozha Afonichev called. He asked me if it was true that a plane on which Lokomotiv seemed to be flying crashed in Tunoshna. The first reaction is disbelief. Here in Yaroslavl? Did a plane crash? Can't be. And what about with Lokomotiv?! I'm calling the duty desk.

16:09
The duty unit of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Yaroslavl region received a message that a Yak-42 plane crashed during takeoff from Tunoshna airport.

The duty officer says that a plane actually crashed in Tunoshna. Whether Lokomotiv was there is still unknown. There is no information about casualties in the disaster.

16:15
The emergency was reported to First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Gorovoy, the leadership of law enforcement agencies in the Yaroslavl region.

16:17
The emergency incident was reported to the duty station of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs.

We decide to go to Tunoshna. We're going with Anton. He's driving, I'm on the phone. There are constant calls. There is no certainty. I am reporting what happened to the public relations department of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. I say that there are no details yet, that I will report later.

I’m calling the department of communications and public relations of the regional government. They don't have the information yet either. We are traveling along with several ambulances. We are clearly speeding, but the traffic police officers, who were all along the route from the center to the airport that day, only watched us go.

16:20
The officer on duty at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in a telephone conversation with the head of the aviation security service, clarifies the circumstances of the crash of the Yak-42 aircraft and the number of passengers and crew members.

The airport is located three kilometers beyond the village of Tunoshna. We are almost flying through the village when a traffic police inspector slows us down and says that we need to go towards the Volga through the village - the plane crashed there.

We turn not far from the Tunoshi school and drive deeper into the village, past the church. We stop near some two-story non-residential building. You can’t go any further: there are police officers standing around the area. We take a camera and a camera and walk between some fences and vegetable gardens.

16:25
Employees of the special forces detachment, private security, dog handlers, and investigative teams have been sent to Tunoshna airport.

16:30
20 experts from the forensic department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, an explosion-technical and fire-technical laboratory were sent to the scene of the incident.

The crash site is a little less than a kilometer away. The paths are narrow and broken. We arrive at the place. I take some photos, Anton takes a video. Rescuers from the Ministry of Emergency Situations are working at the scene of the disaster, and riot police are standing in a cordon. They arrived here from the airport and immediately cordoned off the area.

The outermost houses of the village are literally 50 meters away. I remember thinking that the falling plane miraculously did not hit the houses. The entire crash site is smoking, plowed up, and debris is strewn everywhere. Some of the fragments lie on the foundation of a house under construction. The tail of the plane is in the water of the Tunoshonka River, and firefighters are still pouring fire on it. A little higher along the shore there are fragments of the bow. Large parts of the aircraft are scattered over about a hundred meters. Closer to the airport, on a hillock you can see a birch tree, literally cut off by the plane’s wing when it fell, and a rickety power line pole that looks like a burnt cross. Under the hillock, in the ravine through which the stream flows to Tunoshonka, there are more fragments.

Photo: archive of the press service of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Yaroslavl region

16:45
A Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs helicopter located in Yaroslavl was lifted into the air.

16:50
Six medical experts, three boats, and additional police squads for the second cordon were sent to the scene.

The phone rings incessantly. I am beginning to confirm the fact of the disaster. Nothing is known yet about the dead and wounded. On the spot, EMERCOM employees are organizing an operational headquarters, and the head of the main department of the Russian EMERCOM for the Yaroslavl region, General Pavel Baryshev, is already there.

Boats of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and police are moving along Tunoshonka and Volga. Rescuers and law enforcement officers are scurrying among the rubble. The discovered bodies of the dead are taken to a hollow slightly to the side of the fall site. There are about ten people lying there. The bodies are almost undamaged, they are wearing only underwear and socks - all other clothes (apparently made of synthetics) were burned.

It's almost physically painful to look at them. It also hurts because without clothes it is clearly visible that all the dead were young men, tall, well-developed, athletic. Faces are unrecognizable under a layer of soot.

Here and there, white Lokomotiv hockey jerseys are visible among the rubble. It seems that they simply flew out of the athletes' bags. But after walking around the scene of the accident a little, I understand that it was the rescuers who covered the remains of the victims with sweaters. Some are severely crippled and burned.

I force myself to push my emotions deeper, to detach myself from what I see. Not now. Now it's work.

I understand that journalists will soon arrive at the scene of the disaster. I ask the riot police commanders not to let anyone through the cordon without me. I call up the girls from the department. I say that we confirm the fact of the disaster, but there are no details yet. They say that the phone is ringing off the hook, everyone is waiting for some official message. We agree that they say that a briefing will soon take place, at which the initial version of the disaster will be announced. I know that this needs to be done, and I am ready to convince management that they cannot delay this.

Of course, a plane crash is far from my competence. The Investigative Committee and special commissions will investigate the accident. But it's not that. Lokomotiv is very important for Yaroslavl. After the disaster, various rumors will arise, people may take to the streets, which will lead to unpredictable consequences, especially during an international forum, when there are many foreign delegations in the city. The faster truthful information is conveyed, the fewer rumors there will be, and the easier it will be to maintain law and order. That's pretty much what I thought at the time. That's how I continue to think now.

16:57
First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs A.V. Gorovoy, Head of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Yaroslavl Region N.I. Trifonov arrived at Tunoshna airport. In addition, the Governor of the Yaroslavl Region S.A. Vakhrukov, the head of the Investigative Directorate of the Russian Investigative Committee for the Yaroslavl Region Major General of Justice O.I. Lipatov, the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Central Federal District O.M. Govorun, the Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation went to the scene of the incident. Federation I. E. Levitin.

17:00
The emergency situation was reported to the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation.

There are more and more people at the operational headquarters near the disaster site. Representatives of the presidential administration are coming from Arena 2000. No one yet has a complete understanding of what is happening. But the version of a terrorist attack disappears almost immediately. Obviously, the reasons for the accident are different.

Olga Aleksandrovna Lileeva, head of the communications and public relations department of the regional government, arrives with the governor. We step aside with her, and I say that we need to quickly conduct a briefing in order to convey information to people about what is happening through journalists. She promises to talk to the governor.

On the radio from the border of the cordon, where Anton and I left the car, they report that several television film crews have arrived. Time is compressed, I feel with my whole body that I need to make a decision faster. I am ready to go out to journalists and tell them about what is happening at the scene of the disaster. But still, now it’s not me who should do it.

17:09
The duty department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Yaroslavl region received information from the main directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia for the Yaroslavl region that 37 people were flying on the plane, and 22 corpses were found.

At the operational headquarters, after long discussions, they decide that the briefing should be conducted by Governor Sergei Alekseevich Vakhrukov, the highest official of the Yaroslavl region. We agree with Olga Alexandrovna that she will lead the governor outside the inner cordon line, where he will wait for the media right on the road, and Anton and I will bring the journalists.

We go beyond the stretched red and white signal tapes. A tall man in a dark blue T-shirt stands near the riot police squad and, holding his head with his hands, looks towards the wreckage. Friends of the riot police say that this is Galimov’s father. At the time of the accident, he was at his friends’ dacha near Tunoshna, and upon hearing about the tragedy, he immediately ran here.

We go to the outer cordon line. While we are walking, we see film crews from Yaroslavl TV channels. Local journalists managed to infiltrate through the still loose outer cordon line and use the gardens to make their way almost to the inner line, which is held by riot police.

I especially remember one journalist, a tall guy who, clumsily crouching, tried to sneak along a rather sparse picket fence unnoticed. On his face, the horror of the realization of the disaster was mixed with almost jackal joy at how close he had gotten to his goal. It was unpleasant to see him.

They explained that it was better to go out onto the road, where the governor’s briefing would soon be held, and that no one would be allowed into the place right now anyway, because this could interfere with the dismantling of the wreckage and the investigative actions that had already begun.

Photo: archive of the press service of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Yaroslavl region

17:20
To act at the scene of an emergency situation, a group of forces and assets of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Yaroslavl region was deployed - 518 people, 58 units of equipment. In addition, 117 police officers from the Northern Line Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs for Transport were sent to cordon off the area of ​​the plane crash and carry out initial operational and investigative actions. A double cordon of the emergency site was organized, the movement of unauthorized vehicles was excluded, public order was ensured and assistance was provided in carrying out emergency rescue operations.

At least 60 journalists gathered at the outer cordon line. Many of those who worked at the international forum have already arrived in Tunoshna. Not far, but the topic is so hot that it’s already splashing. Film crews from Japan, Sweden, Poland, Great Britain. There are many Muscovites from almost all leading publications. And, of course, our Yaroslavl newspapermen and photographers.

He explained that there would now be a briefing by the governor of the Yaroslavl region, at which all the information known at that time would be communicated. In addition, he promised that cameramen and photographers would be able to photograph the crash site at least from a distance (on the way, I spotted a point behind the inner ring of the cordon, from which the tail of the plane lying in the water and part of the shore with the wreckage were visible).

Surprisingly, this is where the obstacles began. The police, of course, with my escort, let the journalists through, but an employee of the Ministry of Emergency Situations stood in our way as a wall, who certainly wanted his immediate superior to give him the order to let us through. We lost about seven minutes trying to call those who could give orders. Finally they contacted the governor, who asked the head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations to give instructions to let the journalists through.

17:25
Riot police officers (Yaroslavl) secured the morgue where it was planned to place the bodies of the dead.

They moved along the road in a huge crowd. Looking back, I think it was a rather surreal picture - several dozen well-dressed people (after all, they were at a parquet event - an international political forum) making their way along broken roads among fences and vegetable gardens. I felt like Moses leading the Jews out of Egypt. Especially when we missed the road and had to turn the entire crowd back to the right turn.

While we were wasting time on negotiations with the Ministry of Emergency Situations and wandering along the Tunoshino paths, the governor had already made a statement for three Yaroslavl channels. I had to convince him again through Olga Lileeva that it was necessary to tell him again about everything that was known at that moment.

Journalists quickly surrounded Sergei Vakhrukov in a semicircle and began asking questions. Sergei Alekseevich confirmed that the plane carrying Lokomotiv had crashed, that there were 37 passengers on the plane, that rescue operations were underway, that 22 corpses had been found, that the version of a terrorist attack had been practically ruled out, and that the causes of the tragedy were being clarified.

The briefing took about 7–9 minutes. At the end of it, Anton and I led cameramen and photojournalists to a small cape on the shore of Tunoshonka, from which traces of the accident could be removed without interfering with the work of rescuers and investigators. Almost all the photographs of the disaster that went around the world that day were taken from this very place. There you can see the tail lying in the water, debris on the shore and working specialists.

19:00
Information has been received about a gathering in the area of ​​Arena 2000 of groups of citizens who are fans of the Lokomotiv hockey club - more than 500 people.

19:05
31 employees of the Uglich department of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs and 60 riot policemen were redeployed to the Arena-2000 area from the Volzhskaya embankment.

After the shooting, Anton and I again led all the journalists outside the cordon in an organized manner. The first, most important information was given.

We decided to go to Yaroslavl, to the Arena, to assess what was happening there and, if necessary, prepare information for the media. The problem was that Arena 2000, in connection with the international political forum, was cordoned off by employees of the internal affairs bodies and the Federal Security Service, and I was afraid that conflicts might arise there.

On the way, they stopped at my house and took my wife and son. They also wanted to visit the Arena, where all the Yaroslavl residents rushed with their hearts that evening. We left the car near Institutskaya Street, which was blocked by traffic police. To approach the Arena, you had to go to Gagarin Street. My wife wanted to buy flowers, but there was nothing in the stalls - all the flowers were bought before us. People walked in an endless stream. We walked with them to the Arena. The police removed the turnstiles from Gagarin Street, and the wall of the complex closest to the bus stop spontaneously became a wall of memory.

Mountains of flowers, scarves, hockey sweaters, handwritten posters, photographs, burning candles. There are practically no drunks. There are a lot of crying people - men, women. Grief united everyone. I understand from the mood of the fans that there should be no incidents.

We leave the crowd. My wife and son go home, and Anton and I go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. We need to create information for our website.

Photo: archive of the press service of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Yaroslavl region

20:00
Preliminary information has been received about the passengers and crew members who were on the plane that crashed (45 people). Two survivors were found at the scene: plane flight engineer Alexander Sizov and Lokomotiv player Alexander Galimov, both were taken to Solovyov Hospital in serious condition.

In my office, I quickly start writing text for the website. I will update it until the next morning. I check all the known information with the duty officer and with my colleagues from the Ministry of Emergency Situations and write.

20:45
The removal of the bodies of the victims has begun from the site of the plane crash.

The first version of the press release appears around nine in the evening. I wrote there everything that was known at that time about the disaster, about the work of the police, expressed condolences on behalf of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to the families of the victims and asked fans not to try to enter the scene of the accident, so as not to interfere with the work of rescuers and investigators.

I send information to the public relations department of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, and constantly keep in touch with the head of the public relations department.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs, despite the late hour, is crowded. At about 22:00, First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Russia Alexander Gorovoy held a meeting with the leadership of the Yaroslavl internal affairs bodies. The discussion was about connecting additional reserves. Significant forces were deployed to maintain law and order at the forum, and after the disaster the operational situation became more complicated.

20:55
Information was received that the previously gathered group of HC Lokomotiv fans, which had grown to three thousand people, attempted to march through the streets of Yaroslavl.

21:26
A column of Lokomotiv fans - about two thousand people - from Arena 2000 moved along the roadway along Gagarin Street to Moskovsky Prospekt. In order to prevent illegal actions, escort by riot police and police officers was organized, and road safety was ensured by six traffic police squads.

Closer to midnight, I add a paragraph to the text stating that the morgues and the hospital where Alexander Sizov and Alexander Galimov are lying are under guard. I am writing about the procession of fans through Yaroslavl. I am writing that the police understand the grief of people and do not take administrative measures against them, but only ensure order. My task is to make it clear to readers that in this situation (as in most others) the police are together with the people.

At the same time I receive phone calls. On the recommendation of the Public Relations Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, Channel One correspondents call and ask to arrange for them to broadcast directly from the scene of the accident. We are going to Tunoshna again.

Traffic police officers allow a Channel One car with a “plate” into the village. The cordon there has been strengthened. There is a checkpoint at the building where we left the car during the day. Correspondents from news agencies and photojournalists are also on duty there. We leave the PTS at the cordon and go closer to the scene of the accident: me, Anton, the correspondent and cameraman of Channel One and another Yaroslavl photographer (I thought that the events of that day would never be erased from my memory, but I don’t remember who it was). We illuminate the road with camera light. Compared to what it was during the day, the road is changing before our eyes: gravel is being brought in, turns are being straightened. This is necessary so that heavy equipment can travel to the accident site.

We reach the inner cordon line. We film a little of the work of investigators and rescuers. It doesn't stop at night either. Near the site, tents are set up and lanterns are placed on masts to illuminate the scene of the disaster.

0:30 September 8
The correspondent goes live and talks about what is happening behind his back. The broadcast goes smoothly and we return to our cars. It's starting to rain. We say goodbye to the journalists and go to the city.

After getting some sleep, I go to work. During the night the situation changed little. Groups of Lokomotiv fans wandered around the city almost until the morning; investigators and rescuers worked at the scene of the disaster.

10:00 September 8
The bodies of 43 dead passengers and crew members of the crashed plane have been discovered.

The commander of the Rybinsk OMON Viktor Voronin tells me that his employees were among the first at the scene of the plane crash and took Alexander Galimov to the hospital.

Photo: archive of the press service of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Yaroslavl region

Here is the press release. I present it in the form in which it was published on the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on September 8, 2011:

09/07/2011 at about 16.00 hours during takeoff at the Tunoshna airport, located in the Yaroslavl district of the Yaroslavl region near the village of Bechevino, a Yak-42 aircraft belonging to the Yak-Service airline (Moscow) crashed on the Yaroslavl flight -Minsk", on board which was the main team of the hockey club "Lokomotiv" (Yaroslavl) in the amount of 37 people and 8 crew members.

After takeoff, the plane, without gaining altitude, tilted, hit the locator and fell to the ground outside the airport in the area of ​​the Tunoshenka River, 200 meters from the confluence with the Volga River. During the fall, an explosion occurred, as a result of which the tail section of the aircraft separated, and the nose section collapsed into small fragments. The tail part fell into the Tunoshenka River, the fragments of the front part are on the shore.

The first at the scene of the disaster were employees of the special purpose detachment of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Yaroslavl region (dislocation in Rybinsk), who were patrolling the glide path zone on a boat. They pulled one victim out of the water. The second was pulled out by transport police.

The survivors, flight engineer Alexander Sizov, and player of the Lokomotiv hockey club (Yaroslavl) Alexander Galimov, were taken to the hospital. Solovyov, Yaroslavl, in serious condition.

The First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, Police Lieutenant General A. V. Gorovoy, the Governor of the Yaroslavl Region S. A. Vakhrukov, the Head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Yaroslavl Region, Police Major General N. I. Trifonov, the Head of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia went to the scene of the incident. for the Yaroslavl Region, Major General P. F. Baryshev, Head of the Investigative Directorate of the Russian Federation for the Yaroslavl Region, Major General of Justice O. I. Lipatov, Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Central Federal District O. M. Govorun, Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation I. E. Levitin.

Based on the fact of the plane crash, the Yaroslavl Transport Investigation Department of the North-Western Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation opened a criminal case on the grounds of a crime under Part 3 of Art. 263 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Violation of traffic safety rules and operation of railway, air or water transport.”

A group of forces and assets of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Yaroslavl region in the amount of more than 500 people was involved in actions at the scene of the incident.

Police officers carried out a double cordon of the emergency site, organized road traffic, excluded the access of outside vehicles to the area where special events were taking place, and ensured public order in full.

At the scene of the incident, an investigative and operational group of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Yaroslavl Region, operational groups of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia for the Yaroslavl Region, the Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Yaroslavl Region and the prosecutor's office of the Yaroslavl Region worked.

An Operational Headquarters was created on the basis of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia for the Yaroslavl Region.

Photo: archive of the press service of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Yaroslavl region

The hospital where the two victims are located, as well as the morgue, are under 24-hour police protection.

The tragic events that took place caused a great public outcry. In the period from 19.00 o'clock. 07.09. until 01.00 o'clock. On September 8, 2011, groups of young people totaling about 10 thousand people spontaneously gathered in the city of Yaroslavl. The largest number of fans gathered at the Arena-2000-Lokomotiv Sports Complex - more than 5 thousand people, in the Red Square area - 2 thousand people. Subsequently, the fans marched along Moskovsky Prospekt in the direction of Red Square.

The movement of these groups was accompanied by police officers, who carried out preventive conversations and informed citizens about the planned services on 09/08/2011 in 10 churches in Yaroslavl and the Yaroslavl region. No administrative measures were taken against citizens.

There were no violations of public order in the regional center or other cities in the region.

The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Yaroslavl Region expresses condolences to the families and friends of the deceased hockey players of the Lokomotiv team and members of the aircraft crew.

We ask fans of the hockey club not to try to enter the scene of the plane crash and not to interfere with the work of specialist experts and investigators.

We are shocked by what happened and mourn together with all the residents of Yaroslavl.

Again we are going with Anton Smirnov to Tunoshna. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is scheduled to visit the accident site.

At the scene of the accident, everything is no longer the same as the day before. As far as can be seen from the signal tapes (and the investigators, who took control into their own hands, did not let us in behind them), many of the wreckage had already been removed there, and, of course, there were no bodies of the dead. A small area on the river bank was prepared for laying flowers.

Yaroslavl journalists, who had been waiting for several hours near the police cordon, were not allowed in by visiting presidential administration officials. Dmitry Medvedev brought with him his pool of fifteen journalists from central publications. Only they filmed the laying of flowers and wrote about it.

From Tunoshna we go to Yaroslavl. We are catching up with the car of the City TV Channel. Both the correspondent and the cameraman sleep in it, tired and on the move.

The Rossiya TV channel asks us to organize an interview with Rybinsk riot police about yesterday. There is great interest in this. We decide that we will write down the police officers’ story for ourselves, so that we can use it later.

We are going to the base of the Yaroslavl riot police in the village of Sokol, where Rybinsk residents live. There we meet with Rossiya journalists and together with them we write a 10-minute interview with Dmitry Konoplev and Oleg Smirnov.

Having returned to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, I write a press release about this and post it on the website:

The names of the police officers who were the first to arrive at the scene of the plane crash in which the Lokomotiv team died and provided first aid to the victims have become known.

Police lieutenant Dmitry Konoplev and police warrant officer Oleg Smirnov, employees of the special forces detachment of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Yaroslavl region (dislocation in Rybinsk) served on the Volga near the Tunoshna airport on a police boat. Their task was to protect the water part of the airport's glide path area.

Photo: archive of the press service of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Yaroslavl region

At about 4 p.m., police saw a plane trying to take off from the airfield. “He barely got off the ground, caught the locator, went to the left and collapsed behind the trees,” says Dmitry. “We immediately weighed anchor and swam to the crash site. It was no more than 300 meters from us. Oleg steered the boat, and I reported to the management about the disaster. Literally a minute and a half later we were there. Part of the plane lay in the water, the rest was burning on the shore. A man tried to walk to the shore in chest-deep water. At first we decided that it was a fisherman who happened to be at the scene of the accident, but then we realized that it was the victim.”

The police could not immediately bring the boat to the shore (it was shallow there). They shouted to the man to move a little to the side. At this time, a man in a pilot's uniform appeared from the wreckage of the plane. He tried to pull out another man, also in uniform, by the shoulders. From the direction of the airfield, the vehicles of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, police, and ambulance quickly arrived at the crash site. They took care of the man in uniform. Alexander Sizov was pulled out of the water by transport police.

UN MIA officers returned to the first victim. The man was conscious, speaking and moving confidently, but was badly burned. The police carefully helped him get into the boat. “He was badly burned,” says Dmitry Konoplev, “and we didn’t even know how to help him, but then we grabbed him by the elbows and wrists and dragged him on board. He was very cold and asked to be covered. Having contacted the doctors by phone, we went to Yaroslavl. We talked to him the entire way to prevent him from losing consciousness. He behaved very courageously and adequately assessed what was happening. Just before loading into the ambulance"we asked his name. “Brothers, I’m Galimov,” he said.”

Dmitry Konoplev and Oleg Smirnov have been serving in the internal affairs bodies for about 10 years. During this time, their service included repeated business trips to the North Caucasus, performing difficult tasks in Yaroslavl and other regions of the country. The police do not see anything unusual in their action. “First of all, we must help people,” they say.

Several NTV programs, Channel One, Rossiya, the Zvezda channel, and others are asking to film the story. I upload the video to a file hosting service. I send a link to those in Moscow, those in Yaroslavl come for videos with flash drives. I was surprised that different programs from the same channel came to me one after another. They explained that it was easier for them than trying to take a video from another program on their own channel.

9th of September
The funeral of the deceased members of the Lokomotiv hockey team took place in Yaroslavl. The farewell took place in the Arena. I was there, helping employees of the communications and public relations department of the regional government work with the media. I had to accompany the journalists, resolve issues with the police cordon, and make sure that the correspondents did not go beyond the fence to the relatives of the victims.

Then I accompanied the Russian Minister of Internal Affairs, Rashid Nurgaliev, who, being a big hockey fan, came to Yaroslavl to say goodbye to Lokomotiv.

The Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, Army General Rashid Nurgaliev, took part in the farewell ceremony for the deceased players and employees of the Lokomotiv hockey club.

Rashid Gumarovich walked along with the Yaroslavl players along the mourning ice rink and laid flowers at the portraits of hockey players and team personnel.

“The crash of the plane on which Lokomotiv was flying is a tragedy for the entire hockey world,” said R. G. Nurgaliev. “I express my condolences to the relatives and friends of the hockey players, club employees and the crew of the plane.”

At least 100 thousand people came to the Arena that day. People stood in the rain for hours to walk past the coffins of their favorite players and place flowers on their portraits. I still remember the sea of ​​umbrellas in front of the main entrance of the complex. This is one of the most powerful impressions of my life.

All the days after the plane crash in Yaroslavl there are gloomy gray skies and rain, nature is crying along with people. It is still impossible to get rid of the feeling of complete unreality of what is happening. I want to wake up... But, unfortunately, this is not a dream... It hurts, irreparably... The bitterness of loss is irreparable.

There is mourning in Yaroslavl.

10 September
More than 100 thousand people came to Arena 2000 to say goodbye to the dead.

From 8:30, despite the pouring rain, people in an endless stream with flowers went to the Arena to pay their last respects to their loved ones and share grief with the relatives and friends of the victims.

The farewell ceremony was attended by Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, Army General Rashid Nurgaliev, and many other officials and famous athletes. The farewell ceremony had to be extended until 14:30 and still not everyone was able to get into Arena 2000.

14 members of the Lokomotiv team were buried at the Leontyevskoye cemetery. Those who were unable to say goodbye to those killed in the Arena laid flowers on the graves of the athletes.

Photo: archive of the press service of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Yaroslavl region

On this tragic day, September 10, public order was protected in Yaroslavl by more than 2,500 police officers. Including 30 canine specialists with dogs and more than 500 employees of special forces units.

Photo: archive of the press service of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Yaroslavl region

The K-229 helicopter of the special purpose aviation detachment of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for Moscow took part in ensuring law and order. On board the helicopter there is a modern video surveillance system, the image from which is transmitted to the ground in real time. A crew of two people monitors the situation, tracking what is happening in the city.

Police officers, along with all Yaroslavl residents, are grieving what happened and mourning the death of the hockey players, team personnel and plane crew. These days they tried to support their fellow countrymen. No administrative measures were taken against fans who expressed their feelings on the street.

There were no violations of public order. The mourning day passed without incident.

On this sad note I will end the story about September 2011. Sometimes it seems like it was just yesterday, and sometimes it seems like a lot of time has passed since then. Something is remembered, something is forgotten. But we will never forget our guys from Lokomotiv.

“What are you doing?” — a phrase from one of the pilots of the ill-fated flight that claimed the lives of the main team of the hockey team “Lokomotiv” from Yaroslavl in 2011. These words instantly sold millions of copies in the Russian press and across the Internet.

The phrase is biting, emotional, touching the soul and shedding light on who may have caused the tragedy. It's all true. But this phrase does not allow us to understand the reasons for what happened. Rather, it is a cry of despair that escaped the pilot to the flight mechanic at the moment when it was too late to change anything. After it there are only 12 seconds, and then there is silence for an eternity.

Error during preparation stage

Before the last phrase of the pilots on the radio at 15:59:57 “That’s it, it’s over” (only obscene) and the recording cut off at 15:59:59 there are still almost ten minutes of negotiations, from which it becomes clear what could actually have caused the crash aircraft, which allows you to forget about mythical flights, conspiracy theories and other pseudoscientific investigations.

The negotiations we are interested in begin at 15:51 Moscow time with the phrase “How old are you? Nine?" Pilots randomly select the position of the stabilizer due to the fact that they do not know the exact weight of the vessel equipped for flight. This happens because the luggage did not go through the weighing procedure before takeoff.

Then, at 15:57, the command to start moving follows - the standard Russian “Let's go!” and a proposal to take off at nominal mode, which is usually used for an unloaded aircraft. The only problem is that on board this Yak-42 there were 45 adults and a huge luggage of the hockey team. Each player carries at least 50 kilograms of equipment. In general, the plane was not only loaded, but even loaded more than usual.

After this, the pilots begin to argue from which place it is better for them to take off. One suggests starting from the far edge of the runway, making the acceleration distance maximum. But the first pilot decides to accelerate from the point where it was easier to taxi, depriving himself of several hundred meters of acceleration, which may not have been enough for takeoff.

Start of movement

Acceleration begins - in Moscow the clock shows 15 hours 58 minutes 36 seconds. There is less than one and a half minutes left before disaster. The engine picks up speed, normal for the nominal mode, and the ship begins to accelerate.

“The speed is increasing. Parameters are normal. 130... 150... 170... 190...,” comments the surviving flight mechanic. The front strut starts to bounce on the runway, but just can't get off the ground. Later it turns out that one of the pilots could have accidentally lightly pressed the brake pedal, which is acceptable in similar models of Yak aircraft, but not in this one, not in the Yak-42.

“Pick it up!” — the first pilot commands. At this moment, the speed had already reached 210 kilometers per hour, but the crew never began braking.

"Takeoff!" - says the commander, deciding to turn on the engines at full power and go to the end. At this moment, there is less than half a kilometer left to the edge of the runway - the point of no return has already been passed. Then you can either lift the car off the ground, or refuse to take off and, having driven the plane far beyond the runway, render the car unusable, or, if the takeoff attempt is unsuccessful, get into a plane crash.

“220... 230...” - the flight mechanic comments on the speed gain. But the plane continues to touch the ground with all its landing gear.

“We probably deployed the stabilizer too little,” the co-pilot suggests too late.

“Take-off! Take-off!” - the ship's commander shouts in panic. The speed reaches 250 kilometers per hour. “Take-off! Stabilizer!" — the first pilot continues to give commands, beginning to realize what will happen in 17 seconds.

Only forward

Apparently, panic begins, because at this moment, when the plane leaves the runway at a speed of 250 kilometers per hour, the commander moves the steering wheel away from himself, pressing the nose of the plane to the ground.

Now no one can say what was in his thoughts. Either he wanted to stop. Either he was trying to rock the plane and, sharply pulling the steering wheel towards himself from the lowest point, soar into the air at the last moment... or he had something else on his mind.

The flight mechanic, who decided that the commander was starting to brake, also did not understand the idea. The mechanic reduced the power of all engines to minimum...

“What are you doing?” — the co-pilot shouted at that moment to the commander, realizing that it was too late to slow down. At the same moment, both pilots begin to pull the steering wheel with all their might, and the flight mechanic turns on full power, still trying to lift the ship off the ground. They already understand that there is no other way out. An attempt to slow down will lead to tragedy, but taking off will be a miracle, but it is still possible.

Half a kilometer after leaving the runway, the plane still takes off from the ground, but, having gained a height of only 6 meters, the entire mass collapses back.

“That’s it, it’s over!” - says the commander (in the original, obscene language comes from the commander’s lips). The plane crashes into a ravine. After two seconds the recording ends. Another second later, the Moscow chimes strike 16:00.

Experts will evaluate the new data. The court will decide who is right and who is wrong. But in any case, all this will not bring back neither the hockey players, nor the pilots, nor all those who died on that ill-fated day, September 7, 2011.

© RIA Novosti

© RIA Novosti

© RIA Novosti