Dmitry Rodin, Fokker-100 crew commander, Bek Air

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:55

What is a feat in ordinary life? This is the highest professionalism, which is proved by the events of March 27, 2016 at the Astana airport. Video footage of the landing of the Fokker-100 aircraft captured how delicately the pilot maintains the balance of the aircraft so that the nose does not fall forward in the absence of the nose landing gear. The crash landing was so gentle that no ambulances or fire engines were needed in case of a fire. The pilot's name is Dmitry Rodin.

Hero biography

In August, the Fokker-100 crew commander will celebrate his 55th birthday, 35 of which are given to aviation. Born in Alma-Ata, he dreamed of the sky since childhood, having entered the flight school of the city of Krasny Kut (Saratov region) after graduating from school. 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 escaped in timefrom your post. And the offender got off with an outfit out of turn.

Spreading out in Guryev in 1981, Rodin flew Antonov's Soviet Annushkas, returning to Almaty 11 years later. Here he was engaged in teaching activities, continuing to fly already on foreign technology. This is comparable to a transfer from a Zhiguli to a Mercedes, because the automation greatly facilitated the work of the pilots. Carried goods to India, African and Asian countries, except perhaps in Australia.

Flight experience

During his professional career, the pilot has flown 13,000 hours, which is a testament to the vast experience. Dmitry Rodin joined Bek Air in 2014, heading the Fokker-100 crew. The airline has relied on Dutch aircraft, designed for a hundred or so passengers, which is very convenient for air travel. Its flight fleet includes eight Fokkers, some of which were already operated by other countries, but were in good condition. The crew commander highly appreciates the technical characteristics of the aircraft, emphasizing the absence of malfunctions during flight practice. Out of five points for the reliability of the aircraft, he sets 4, 5.

No serious accidents have ever happened on board his airliners, with the exception of inappropriate behavior of any of the passengers or weather conditions. I remember lightning hitting the windshield and running electricity through it, causing discomfort. Like any experienced pilot, Dmitry Olegovich had to land a plane in bad weather,but the technology has never let me down. Every six months in Amsterdam, simulators trained the skills of aircraft control in extreme conditions, including landing gear failure.

Hero's 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 flew for 25 years as a flight attendant, 6 of which worked with her husband in the same airline. The crews were different, so the couple still remember how they waved to each other on the Bosphorus: he had just arrived, and his wife was already on her way to the airport to go home. Two aviators in the family is too much, so Alena wrote off to the ground, providing her husband with a strong rear.

Dmitry Rodin failed to convey his love for the flying profession to his children: the eldest son (33 years old) is engaged in business, the daughter (18 years old) is educated in St. Petersburg, having entered 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 who can cope with all the loads. Commander Dmitry Rodin changed many colleagues. The Fokker partner was the young Vadim Smerechansky, who came to aviation in 2009. The co-pilot also started with the An-2 and, despite his 28 years, has already flown 3,000 hours. He dreamed about the sky from early childhood, because he is a third-generation pilot. Having created a family and raising his daughter Vika, Vadim did not consider his profession too risky, and even more so.heroic. Just a real man's job, where pilots are responsible for the safety of passengers.

And there are also three stewards on board the Fokker: senior flight attendant Zhadyra and two young guys - Alexander and Ruslan. It depends on them that passengers do not panic in the event of an emergency and follow all the instructions of the crew. On March 27, they will cope with this task perfectly.

How did March 27 start?

The crew commander's work day started at 4:30. Dmitry Olegovich habitually greeted his "Fokker", patting on the barrel, because he believes that he has a soul. There was a flight "Kyzylorda - Astana", then a flight to Chimkent and return to Almaty, where his wife was waiting. Nothing indicated danger. The plane arrived in Kyzylorda on a regular basis, no incidents on board. Dmitry Rodin, the pilot of the aircraft, personally inspects the aircraft 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 there is a problem with Dutch aircraft, it is hydraulics.

116 passengers boarded the ship, including 10 very young children, some of whom were not even a year old. Their flight was supposed to deliver to Astana at exactly 9:45 am. Everything was fine until the moment when the orange Master Caution light came on during landing, indicating that the landing gear was not extended.

Emergency landing

Someone would have been confused, but not Dmitry Rodin. The aircraft is a complex structure, so it is possible that falsesystems operation. The pilot enters the second circle and again tries to release the landing gear, but the nose gear comes out only halfway. He needs accurate information, so the pilot agrees with ground services that he will pass over the airport at the lowest possible height so that the engineers can determine the real situation. Having received an answer about the non-extension of the landing gear, he decides to land in an emergency. For 50 minutes, the aircraft circled over the airport, and one can only guess what the passengers experienced. The children were crying, but the commander's confidence was passed on to the adults. Dmitry Rodin estimated his chances at 99.9%.

The main weight of the vessel falls on the rear landing gear (95%), so the commander ran out of fuel to further reduce the pressure on the bow. At a speed of 270 km / h, the plane landed "on its belly" on a specially treated foam (in case of fire) track. This could happen if the nose stuck into the runway. But the commander kept the balance to the last, until the speed dropped completely, after which the plane drove by inertia for the last 25-30 meters and stood up in its tracks.

After the accident

Passengers greeted the ship's crew standing up to loud applause. Nobody got a scratch. Only those sitting in the front rows felt the strongest 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 it, not yet realizing that from now on he would become a national hero of Kazakhstan. He was just doing his job, adhering to the maximuminstructions. But he did it so flawlessly that Nurlan Zhumasultanov (the head of Bek Air) was amazed that the fuselage of the aircraft was not damaged at all, even the paint was preserved in its original form. And the front landing gear is to be fully restored.

The crew began a difficult period of waiting for the results of the 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 for operating the aircraft. Dmitry Rodin breathed a sigh of relief when the Dutch side acknowledged the Fokker's design flaws.

Hero of Kazakhstan

On one of May days on the eve of two important events for Kazakhstan - Victory Day and Defenders of the Fatherland Day - Nursultan Nazarbayev presented the civil pilot with the Otan Order and the Golden Star, the country's highest award. Dmitry Rodin was not used to everyone's attention, did not consider his actions outstanding. He believes that he was just doing his job, ensuring the safety of passengers. But in civilian life, there is a shortage of just such professionals, reliable and confident in their actions, who are not afraid to trust their lives when taking off.

At the XXIV ANC (Assembly of Peoples of Kazakhstan), Dmitry Rodin spoke from the rostrum, answering questions from the audience, including the President of the country. He was seen off with thunderous applause, hailing him like a real hero. The technique failed, but the man who overcame the difficulties turned out to be on top.