Were all the remains found after the plane crash? Bodies in trees, houses in kerosene. one of the largest plane crashes in the USSR. "It's a very labor-intensive process"

There were 160 passengers on board the liner, 45 of them were minor children - all of them were returning home after a holiday at sea. However, due to a crew error and bad weather, control of the plane was lost - as a result, it crashed to the ground and caught fire. No one managed to survive.

13 years ago, on the morning of August 22, 2006, the crew of a Tu-154 aircraft was preparing to make a regular flight from Vityazevo airport in Anapa to Pulkovo in St. Petersburg. 160 passengers boarded the liner: 115 adults and 45 children, six of whom were infants, and the rest were barely 12 years old.

August was very hot, but a few days before the flight departed, cold air arrived to the south, which provoked severe thunderstorms with downpours. According to the forecast, two centers of thunderstorms awaited the plane along its route, in which heavy downpours and even hail were observed. However, the commander of the aircraft, 49-year-old Ivan Korogodin, did not attach much importance to the weather forecasters' warnings and decided to fly.

At 11:04, the plane took off from Vityazevo and took its assigned flight level of 5.7 thousand meters. Eight minutes after the start of the flight, the control controller from Rostov-on-Don contacted the flight and warned of powerful thunderstorms with heavy hail. At the same time, he forgot to indicate the height of the thunderstorm front, which reached unusually high values ​​- 12-13 km.

At that time, the crew themselves already saw the impending threat, as became clear from the recording of the conversation in the cockpit between the navigator and the commander. The words of the PIC can be heard on it: “Oh, we’re going straight into a cloud. How ugly."

Nevertheless, the plane managed to safely bypass the frightening cloud - the crew calmly exhaled, not suspecting that the worst awaited them ahead.

The second thunderstorm was lying in wait for the plane in the sky over the Donetsk region. At this time, the plane had already been handed over to the dispatchers of the Kharkov regional center, who did not convey information about the disaster to the flight. As a result, the St. Petersburg crew headed straight towards the thunderstorm, without having any information about its size.

At 15:30 the Tu-154 entered a zone of clouds through which hail was breaking through. In order to bypass the dangerous terrain, the commander of flight 612, Korogodin, decided to raise the airliner higher: in literally 5-6 seconds, the 85-ton machine flew up almost 400 meters. Continuing to climb at a vertical speed of approximately 68.6 m/s, the aircraft raised its nose to an angle of climb of 45.7°, after which it fell to the right and began to enter a flat spin. The crew lost control of the plane, which went into an uncontrolled fall.

For some time, the commander was still trying to stabilize the rapidly falling vehicle, deflecting the steering wheel either “toward” or “away from himself,” thereby raising and lowering the nose.

The SOS distress signal was sent at the direction of Korogodin at an altitude of 7.2 thousand meters. About two and a half minutes later, the plane collided with the ground 35 km from Donetsk.

The first blow hit the right wing and right engine of the plane, then a split second later the left wing also entered the ground, and the tail came off. Upon impact, the plane's fuel tanks exploded, after which the fuselage was torn into pieces.

One of the witnesses to the fall of the Tu-154 was Gennady Urasov - at the time of the tragedy he was in his apiary near the village of Sukhaya Balka. The liner crashed just 300 meters from her.

“Suddenly I heard a terrible roar. I raised my head and was stunned: a plane was falling on me. It was spinning in the air like the millstones of a mill, but I did not see it burning. Then I heard a pop and hit the ground. I'm already deaf. Our people, who saw the plane fall, ran to the scene of the tragedy to try to save someone. But you couldn’t even get close to it, it was burning so hot,” the man told the KP newspaper.

According to eyewitnesses, a Donetsk airport specialist arrived at the crash site within 20 minutes and immediately told rescuers the exact coordinates of the Tu-154 crash. However, the firefighters who arrived could not even get close to the plane, as heavy rain began. Streams of water washed away the hillside, so the fire had to be extinguished through a hose that stretched from a nearby lake. 10 fire engines were used for this purpose.

By the evening of the next day, fragments of the bodies of 150 victims were recovered from the rubble, which were delivered to Donetsk in black plastic bags.

“I’ve been working for the Ministry of Emergency Situations for eight years, but I’ve never seen anything like this,” recalled one of the rescuers in a conversation with KP. - Children and their mothers are literally intertwined into one whole. The bodies were terribly burned. There is horror on their faces."

Among the passengers of the crashed liner that day was Andrei Frolov. Initially, the man was not supposed to fly on this plane - he even purchased a train ticket. However, on the last day, he decided to stay in Anapa for another day and planned a flight on flight 612. His mother and her grandson left by train, not suspecting that a few days later they would have to go to the identification procedure.

The tragedy near Donetsk was one of the three largest plane crashes involving the Tu-154. The final results of the investigation into the disaster were published on February 17, 2007. They were presented by a government commission chaired by the head of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation Igor Levitin.

“The cause of the crash of the Pulkovo Airlines Tu-154M RA-85185 aircraft was the aircraft’s withdrawal, when flying in control mode, to supercritical angles of attack and stall mode, followed by a transition into a flat spin and a collision with the ground at a high vertical speed,” the document reported.

After the plane crash near Donetsk, Levitin also promised that the Tu-154 and Tu-134 would be replaced by other ships within 5 years. Relatives of those killed in the plane crash and aviation experts then spoke out in favor of banning flights on these planes.

“In our case, the investigation found the commander guilty. They referred to the inadequacy of his actions, pulled the steering wheel to the side, and this led to the stalling of the plane, in simple terms. Plus the bad ones weather. But all these are consequences, not causes of the disaster,” the co-founder of the public regional organization assistance to victims of plane crashes “Interrupted Flight” Vitaly Yusko.

A year after the tragedy, a monument to the victims was erected at the site of the fall of the fuselage, one and a half kilometers from the village of Sukhaya Balka. It is made of white concrete and represents part of an airplane wing. Around it there are marble slabs on which are engraved views of St. Petersburg and the names of passengers on flight PLK-612.

Initially, the composition of the monument was also supposed to include the engine of the crashed plane. For this purpose, the investigative commission even gave permission to use a fragment of the Tu-154. However, later the authors of the monument abandoned this idea, since the unguarded monument could be attacked by hunters for non-ferrous metals.

It was said in the news that after the plane crash, the relatives of the victims will have a very difficult procedure for identifying the bodies today. We thought so too in 2006.
Doctors and psychologists prepared to greet people with horror. There were ambulances. We all thought that we would have to rescue, pump out, there would be screams, tears, and so on. But it turned out that everything was completely wrong.
I'll tell you how it was...
Identification carried out in two ways: live and on the computer. First come, first served basis. I took part in computer identification.
Even before the first person was invited, we were shown pictures. It's horrible. Fragments of burnt bodies. Children's hands, feet. The remaining intact pieces of colored clothing peek out. I still remember a piece of the child’s blue panties. It is unknown whether it is a boy or a girl. Nothing was clear about these parts at all.

In the morning, people began to approach the offices. Installation of computers and other preparations were underway...
People were very nervous. There was one question: "When and let's hurry up..."
And so they started to launch. There were five computers. That's why they launched five teams of relatives.
The doctors and I waited in horror for fainting. But here there is none of that. No tears, no screams. Nothing. Monotonous work and only: “Stop, return the previous picture. Here’s something similar. No, not that. Next”
Many were found on jewelry, chains, and earrings. Adults by tattoos, who had them. In general, it was a very long procedure, it lasted all day. Some did not find theirs and then went for a second identification...

And now about identification by bodies. It took place in the morgue of Donetsk. All the bodies and fragments were laid out on the street and people, too, were launched in batches, walked by and looked for something similar to theirs. And there were no hysterics or tears either.
Then I saw with my own eyes that serious employment removes emotions, and therefore suffering. Although this, of course, is for a while...

The worst thing is when the body is not found. Then it turns out that it burned down and there is nothing to bury.

There was one funny thing. Maybe I’m in vain writing about this. But it’s probably better to know about such stories than not to know. It's very sad though.
One little boy was identified by two families. They began to quarrel and each tried to prove that he was his.
In general, everyone wanted to take the remains so that they would have something to bury. This was a very important question.
And so they look for signs and they find both. And on the first day of arrival, all relatives were tested for DNA. But the result will not come soon.
In general, the doctor saw that this boy was circumcised. And so the truth was established...
And the services of doctors and psychologists on the day of identification - it’s good that they were never needed.

PS. For those who haven’t read, I wrote about my participation in such an event

- When did you start searching for the bodies of Tu-154 passengers?

We were given the alarm sometime around 7am on Sunday. We waited another 30 minutes for the coordinates of the main search area - this information came from air traffic controllers. We went out to sea on boats. Soon helicopters from the search and rescue service of the Ministry of Defense appeared in the sky, then small ships and ships with divers began to approach.

- When was the first body discovered?

I didn't watch the clock. In addition, about 10 boats were working at once. We recovered the first body about three hours after the start of the operation following a tip from a helicopter. About one and a half kilometers from the coast.

- And who was it?

A woman of about 40. A tightly closed red suitcase floated next to her.

- Judging by your answer about her age, she was not disfigured?

She didn't have eyes...

- Were her clothes intact?..

She was wearing a badly torn cloak... And she was all broken... it seemed like she had no bones... We lifted two more from the water about a kilometer from the shore. Two military men, in uniform... Also torn... Young. Well, thirty, thirty-five years... And broken and broken bodies... That’s it, I can’t talk anymore, it’s hard... And there’s a lot of work.

- Did you notice any traces of burnt on the clothes or on the bodies?

The devil knows... The clothes are wet... And it’s hard to judge by the skin on the face - it’s burned or torn off on something hard when hit...

The plane, it turns out, fell apart while still in the air. This version is also supported by the fact that the Tu-154 chassis was found near the coast

EXPERT OPINION

“Either an explosion or a strong blow to the water”

Military forensic expert Captain II Rank Alexander KOLESNIKOV answers KP’s question

Photo of fragments of the fuselage of the fallen Tu-154 recovered from the bottom of the Black Sea

As a result search operation Part of the fuselage was pulled out of the water in the Black Sea crashed plane Ministry of Defense Tu-154. At the site of the plane crash - near Adler, almost opposite the airport - specialists from the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Emergency Situations are working.

The middle part of the fuselage was discovered approximately 1.8 kilometers off the coast of Sochi at a depth of approximately 25 meters. The fragment pulled out of the water reaches approximately five meters in length and five in width, Komsomolskaya Pravda correspondent Vladimir Velengurin reports from the site of the search and rescue operation.

Specialists from the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Emergency Situations are working at the crash site.

The middle part of the fuselage was discovered approximately 1.8 kilometers from the coast.

As the participants in the operation told KP, before falling into the water the plane was on a glide path towards the water - the runway is located perpendicular to the coastline.

The recovered fragment lay at the bottom at a depth of approximately 25 meters.

Rescuers pulled part of the fuselage of the fallen Tu-154 Ministry of Defense aircraft out of the water.

The fragment pulled out of the water reaches approximately five meters in length and five in width.

A storm has begun. Armchair experts on the Internet claim that after a storm it will only be easier for divers to work - the water itself will wash many things ashore. Those professionals who are now examining the sunken TU-154 think differently. Bad weather, on the contrary, will confuse all the cards. The head of the search and rescue unit of the southern regional search and rescue team of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Vyacheslav Ivashchenko, told Komsomolskaya Pravda about how the search for the crashed plane is going on.

- Under what conditions do you have to work?

Almost ideal. The plane lies on a large underwater field. The depth is approximately the same everywhere - about 25 meters. That is, you can search during the day without special lighting; natural conditions are enough. The bottom is solid sandstone. There is almost no silt or dirt.

- And what can you find?

Large parts of the aircraft, small ones, some personal items. If we manage to find electronic devices - phones, tablets - they are immediately taken upstairs. Then they are sent for examination. Yesterday we lifted an aircraft engine weighing three tons from the bottom. There are also fragments of bodies (according to data, as of 18:40 on December 28, the remains of 16 people were found - Author)

Divers working underwater at the Tu-154 crash site.

- Are there any whole bodies?

Alas. This happens when you hit the water hard. The dead are literally torn apart. I saw something similar during the Armenian Airlines Airbus crash 10 years ago. Also near Adler. The injuries are similar.

(Recall that information appeared in the media that the bodies of the dead were found without clothes. Now it is clear why. By the way, the data that the passengers were wearing life jackets was also not confirmed.)

- How do you look for fragments at the bottom?

An anchor is lowered from a ship to the surface. I tie myself to it with a rope and begin to swim slowly in a circle. Then the rope lengthens, and I swim in a larger circle. The bottom is searched using such divergent trajectories. Small objects are tied with a rope and lifted by partners in the boat on the surface. Large aircraft parts are pulled out using a crane. I indicate the coordinates, a ship or barge with a lift floats on the surface. Then the find is tied with slings and lifted.

- What is more: personal belongings or aircraft parts?

90% - fuselage elements. Passengers' belongings are rarely found.

- They say the storm will help you.

No. The storm will shake everything at the bottom. Something may shift to already tested areas. In addition, now everything is clearly visible under water. And after the storm, the clouds will rise and work will become much more difficult.

- Is it psychologically difficult to swim underwater and find remains?

You need to set yourself up correctly. I focus on the idea that there is difficult but important work to be done. Return their loved ones to the relatives. Only I can do this. There will be no others. This kind of motivation helps.

- Are there any tricks to relax after work and reboot?

I return to my family, play with the children, and just try not to think about what lies at the bottom. Again, I remind myself that I don’t have an ordinary profession where anything can happen.

Vyacheslav Ivashchenko said that divers from the Ministry of Emergency Situations work hard all day long. They go out to sea in the morning, when it begins to get light, and return to shore only in the evening when the sun sets. But even so, each submariner manages to work no more than two hours. The rest of the time is spent on diving and ascent, preparing equipment and refilling oxygen cylinders.

PHOTO REPORT

Rescuers from the Ministry of Emergency Situations lift the wreckage of a Tu-154 from the bottom of the Black Sea

HELP "KP"

The search operation involves 45 ships, 15 deep-sea vehicles, 192 divers, 12 aircraft and five helicopters. A self-propelled crane arrived in the area of ​​the plane crash to lift large debris.

About one and a half thousand fragments of the aircraft were discovered. On this moment managed to bring one third to the surface. Another 12 large pieces of debris were discovered. One of them is two by three meters, the second is about five meters long, the third is more than 60 meters long.

MEANWHILE

The main phase of the search for the wreckage of the crashed Tu-154 has ended

“The active phase of the search operation in the Black Sea has been completed,” the source said. The search group recovered almost all the fragments of the Tu-154 from the bottom of the sea. The group of ships that took part in the operation left the Black Sea

BY THE WAY

Rescuers from the Tu-154 crash site: The dead have the same injuries as the victims of the 2006 disaster

Since the day of the Tu-154 crash, rescuers have been working non-stop at the crash site in the Black Sea. They are raising from the bottom the bodies of the dead and the wreckage of the plane, on board at the time of the crash there were 92 people - crew members, artists of the ensemble named after. Alexandrova, journalists and Dr. Lisa.

Our photojournalist Vladimir Velengurin observes with his own eyes how divers work and how the search operation is progressing

The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations reported that search teams and investigators worked all night from February 11 to 12 at the crash site of the An-148 plane in the Ramensky district of the Moscow region. As a result of the search operation, more than 400 body fragments were discovered.

ON THIS TOPIC

Obviously, relatives dead passengers We will have to take biomaterials to identify the remains of victims of the tragedy by DNA. This standard procedure is always carried out after similar disasters. There were 65 passengers and six crew members on board.

A sufficient group of forces and resources has been formed in the crash area. 900 people and more than 100 pieces of equipment are working at the disaster site in 24-hour shifts.

Meanwhile, more and more experts are inclined to believe that the plane fell apart in the air. The cause could be an explosion on board, metal fatigue, the destruction of one of the engines and its parts falling into the fuselage, a collision with a bird, or an instantaneous depressurization of the aircraft.

Experts rule out the factor of bad weather by 99% - aircraft of this type can fly in more difficult conditions. The day before, it was snowing heavily in the Moscow region and the wind was blowing at a speed of 12-15 meters per second. According to TASS, the Investigative Committee stated that there was no destruction on board the An-148 in the air, the explosion occurred when the airliner hit the ground.

Let us recall that the passenger An-148, en route from Moscow to Orsk, crashed immediately after takeoff from the capital’s Domodedovo airport. The reasons for the incident are not yet known.



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