The anniversary of the terrible tragedy.
38 years ago, August 11, 1979, was one of the deadliest crashes in the history of the USSR: two passenger aircraft Tu-134 collided in the sky over Dneprodzerzhinsk. Killing 178 people, including 17 members of the football team “Pakhtakor”. Guilty in this tragedy acknowledged air traffic controllers, although the circumstances of the disaster many seem to be too weird and still are many theories on its causes.
One of the ships was sent from Voronezh to Chisinau, on Board were 88 passengers and 6 crew members. The second plane was flying from Tashkent to Minsk. In addition to the 14 players, coach, physician, and administrator on Board were 60 passengers and 7 crew members. In the crash, killing all 178 people, including 36 children.
About a plane crash was reported in the media only a week later, and then only in passing, on the last page of sports, in the small note, which said about the funeral of fallen players in Tashkent. In the national press information about it. The tragedy would not have such a resonance if the number of the victims were were members of the football League. According to many fans, this was the best for all history of existence of the Tashkent club. The team was headed for another match of the USSR championship in Minsk, where he was to play with local “Dynamo”.
Miraculously survived the head coach Oleg Bazilevich, who went to see my family in Minsk had to get their own. Was lucky enough to avoid tragedy and massage club Dvornikova: on the eve of he and his friends drank too much and missed the flight. But one of the best football team Michael Ahn for a few days before it was injured and was not supposed to fly, but he was persuaded to go along with all over the company. Accidentally got on the flight and sirozhiddin Bazaars – youth player, who celebrated on the eve of her 18th birthday, and stayed for a day in Tashkent.
Found guilty in the tragedy recognised the two managers of the Kharkiv center management, Nikolai Zhukovsky and Vladimir Sumy. Both aircraft were to intercept each other at a height of 8400 meters. Shift Sergeev severe sent a young inexperienced Manager Zhukovsky. According to his calculations, the aircraft had to pass a notional point of intersection with difference in the three minutes, but in reality the interval was less than one minute. Sumy checked the calculations of young colleagues and found the error. He took over the controls and ordered the Belarusian airliner to take another flight level (go to the height of 9000 meters).
The Manager received a vague answer, but did not require confirmation of its command. At the moment on the connection at the same time there were 11 aircraft. Due to interference and overlap of the replicas aboard the Tu-134 team Manager was not accepted. The collision occurred in the overcast conditions, crews could not advance to see each other. Managers of the Sumy and Zhukovsky, was sentenced to 15 years in a General regime colony. The first served a term of 6.5 years, after which he was released, and the second rumored to have committed suicide.
Later about the causes of the disaster were put forward several versions. On one of them, the tragedy occurred through the fault of the first person of the state: that airspace that day “clears” due to the fact that Brezhnev flew to the South. But as it turned out, at that time he for several days was in the Crimea. Shortly before the crash really followed the “lettered” flight, as it was called transportation For dignitaries. it was released echelons of the movement, however, any further difficulty it did not create the collision happened an hour and a half after that.
Coach Oleg Bazilevich later suggested this version: “I think, “Pakhtakor” were killed because of the carelessness of our defense, became their next victim. The plane is, I think, down there, where he could not be caught… Just because of the mistakes of the Manager Board with the players flew into the airspace over some defense…”. This version was supported and some relatives of the dead players. However, at this time the military exercises in this area is not carried out, and to consider the defence objects with a height of 8400 meters cloud cover unlikely. In addition, the nature of the damage from the explosion differs significantly from damage in a collision or fall.
Obviously still the cause of the collision was the fault of the Manager: having received a vague response from the pilot, he had to duplicate the command, and to require a re-confirmation of receipt (that is what the court called “a gross violation of the phraseology”).
After the disaster have put together a new team of players from 15 clubs. It was decided to retain “Pakhtakor” in the highest League of the USSR championship in three years. That season the team finished in ninth place. Death players shocked Uzbekistan. Journalist Eduard Avanesov responded to the tragedy with Requiem, in which were these lines:
As the years fly, but the pain does not subside,
My sorrow soared above the mountains.
On the flight of birds die
Died and you’re flying, “Pakhtakor”.
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