What is a feat in everyday life? This is the highest professionalism, which is proved by the events of March 27, 2016 at the airport of Astana. Fokker-100 airplane landing footage captured how accurately the pilot maintains the balance of the aircraft so that his nose does not fall forward in the absence of a front landing gear. The emergency landing took place so smoothly that neither an ambulance nor fire equipment were needed in case of fire. The name of the pilot is Dmitry Rodin.
Hero Biography
In August, the Fokker-100 crew commander will celebrate his anniversary - 55 years, 35 of which were given to aviation. Born in Alma-Ata, he dreamed about the sky from childhood, having entered the flight school of the city of Krasny Kut (Saratov Region) after graduation. He still remembers his first training flight, during which he almost ran into a cadet, whose task was to assess the correctness of the pilot's actions during landing. He raised either a red or a white flag. As a result, the Motherland was lucky: the cadet showed dexterity and fled from his post on time. And the offender escaped with an outfit out of turn.
Having distributed in 1981 in Guryev, Rodin flew on the Soviet “Annushki” aircraft designer Antonov, returning to Almaty 11 years later. Here he was engaged in teaching, continuing to fly on foreign technology. This is comparable to the transfer from the Lada to the Mercedes, because the automation greatly facilitated the work of the pilots. He transported goods to India, African and Asian countries, unless he visited Australia.
Flight experience
During his professional career, the pilot flew 13, 000 hours, which is evidence of vast experience. Dmitry Rodin joined Bek Air in 2014, leading the Fokker 100 crew. The airline has relied on Dutch aircraft designed for a hundred and a few passengers, which is very convenient for air travel. Its fleet has eight Fokkers, some of which have already been operated by other countries, but were in good condition. The crew commander highly appreciates the technical characteristics of the aircraft, emphasizing the absence of problems during flight practice. Out of five points for reliability, he sets 4.5.
There have never been any serious incidents aboard his airliners, with the exception of the inappropriate behavior of any of the passengers or weather conditions. I remember getting lightning in the windshield and running electricity through it, causing unpleasant sensations. Like any experienced pilot, Dmitry Olegovich had to land the plane in bad weather, but the technology never failed. Every six months in Amsterdam, simulators trained to control the aircraft in extreme conditions, including in the event of a chassis failure.
Hero family
Dmitry Rodin's father dreamed of becoming a pilot, but he had to engage in the most peaceful profession on earth - to build houses. He was happy that his son connected his life with heaven. His wife Alena, 25 years old, flew off as a flight attendant, 6 of whom worked with her husband in the same airline. The crews were different, so still the couple remember how they waved to each other on the Bosphorus: he just flew in, and his wife was already going to the airport to go home. Two aviators in the family is too much, so Alena was written off to the ground, providing her husband a strong rear.
Dmitry Rodin was unable to convey his love of the flying profession to his children: the eldest son (33 years old) is engaged in business, his daughter (18 years old) is educated in St. Petersburg by entering the university of trade unions.
Fokker-100 crew
The uniqueness of the aircraft lies in the fact that it is controlled by a crew of only two pilots to cope with all the loads. Commander Dmitry Rodin succeeded many colleagues. The partner in the Fokker was the young Vadim Smerechansky, who came to aviation in 2009. The co-pilot also began with the An-2 and, despite its 28 years, already flew 3, 000 hours. He dreamed about the sky from early childhood, for he is a pilot in the third generation. Having created a family and raising his daughter Vika, Vadim did not consider his profession too risky and even more heroic. Just a real man’s job where pilots are responsible for passenger safety.
And there are three stewards aboard the Fokker: the senior flight attendant Zhadyr and two young guys - Alexander and Ruslan. It depends on them that passengers should not panic in case of an emergency and comply with all crew instructions. On March 27, they will cope with this task perfectly.
How did the day begin on March 27?
The working day of the crew commander began at 4:30. Dmitry Olegovich habitually greeted his "Fokker", patting the barrel, because he believes that he has a soul. The “Kyzylorda-Astana” flight was coming, then the flight to Shymkent and return to Almaty, where the wife was waiting. Nothing portended danger. The plane arrived in Kyzylorda regularly, no accidents on board. Dmitry Rodin - the pilot of the aircraft - personally inspects the plane on the eve of departure, this is a tradition. But it was impossible to identify the chassis problem in advance. Although all aviators know that if the Dutch aircraft have a problem, it is hydraulics.
116 passengers, including 10 very young children, some of whom were not even a year old, boarded the ship. Their flight was supposed to deliver to Astana at exactly 9:45 a.m. Everything was fine until the moment when the orange Master Caution light came on when landing, meaning the chassis was not released.
Emergency landing
Someone would be confused, but not Dmitry Rodin. Aircraft - the structure is complex, so false alarms are possible. The pilot enters the second circle and again tries to release the chassis, but the bow stance is only half out. He needs accurate information, so the pilot agrees with the ground services that he will fly over the airport at the lowest possible height so that the engineers can determine the real situation. Having received an answer about the non-release of the chassis, he decides to land emergency. For 50 minutes, the aircraft circled over the airport, and you can only guess what the passengers experienced. The children cried, but the commander's confidence passed on to the adults. Dmitry Rodin rated his chances at 99.9%.
The bulk of the ship falls on the rear landing gear (95%), so the commander has developed fuel to further reduce pressure on the bow. At a speed of 270 km / h, the plane landed “on its belly” on a track specially treated with foam (in case of fire). This could happen if the nose stuck in the runway. But the commander kept his balance until the last, until the speed dropped completely, after which the plane drove by inertia for the last 25-30 meters and stood up in his tracks.
After the crash
Passengers greeted the crew of the ship standing, to loud applause. No one got a scratch. Only those seated in the front rows felt a tremendous push, while the rear ones did not feel anything unusual during the landing. Dmitry Rodin, the pilot of the aircraft, was the last to leave him, not yet realizing that from now on he would become the national hero of Kazakhstan. He simply did his job, following the instructions as much as possible. But he made it so impeccable that Nurlan Zhumasultanov (the head of Bek Air) was amazed that the fuselage of the aircraft was not damaged at all, preserving even its original form in its original form. And the front landing gear is fully restored.
The crew began a difficult period of waiting for the results of a special commission investigating the accident. It is important to identify the causes of the emergency, which could be associated with a violation of the rules of operation of the aircraft. Dmitry Rodin breathed a sigh of relief when the Dutch side acknowledged the Fokker design issues.
