"Miraculously kept the equipment on the fly": the crew of the Tu-134 - about the award 25 years after the plane landed with a burning engine

On June 15, 2022, four Ufa pilots were awarded the Order of Courage by decree of the President of Russia for the feat that they accomplished more than 25 years ago - on August 23, 1996.

The awards were received by Vladimir Bylda (posthumously), Salavat Khabirov, Konstantin Buzanov and Pyotr Filipov.

The pilots were able to land the plane, in which one of the engines caught fire and was completely destroyed after a bird hit it. 

• Konstantin Buzanov, Pyotr Filipov and Salavat Khabirov

• © From the personal archive

"We lost speed over the sea"

Co-pilot Konstantin Buzanov revealed to RT the details of that day: “Everything happened on the takeoff run, still on the ground.

The takeoff speed had already been reached, about 280 kilometers per hour, but then I heard a pop.

As we found out later, we ran into a flock of cormorants, and one bird hit the left engine.

I had to take off on the right engine.

At the end of the run, you won't stop.

The commander took control.

Turned off the fuel supply to the left engine.

On a serviceable engine, they kept the plane on the fly and slowly, at 0.5-1 m per second, began to gain altitude.

A fire broke out in the damaged engine, and the automatic fire extinguishing system worked there.

We gained a height of about 450 m. The take-off weight was maximum, so there were landing restrictions: it was necessary at least to work out the fuel.

But it can't be done with just one engine.

so we slowly went back to the landing.

The flaps were not fully extended, ten degrees.

Therefore, the speed at the entrance to the landing was increased.

The right engine had to enter the take-off mode so that it could withstand the descent trajectory.

Sat down at high speed and immediately applied the brakes.

Everything went fine.

Stripe is enough.

Stopped.

We pulled into the parking lot.

There we were already met by fire trucks, because while we were flying in a circle, an alarm was announced at the airport.

Crew navigator Salavat Khabirov remembers up to a minute the details of what happened on August 23, 1996 at the Anapa airport: “We were preparing for the return flight: refueling, loading passengers, luggage.

At 14:25, when we were taking off, an emergency situation arose: the plane shuddered.

We took off, but the parameters of speed and height did not correspond to the norm.

“We abruptly lost speed over the sea, at an unacceptable height we had to transfer the plane to the horizon.

Another fraction of a second, and we would have gone under water.

We began to fall.

The situation was extraordinary.

But we reacted immediately.

And they completed this task, ”he says in an interview with RT.

Khabirov notes that the pilots "miraculously kept the equipment on the fly."

“If we had been confused, perhaps the outcome would have been different.

The plane was refueled under the plug, the passenger compartment was almost full, luggage took off over the sea, and according to the norms, if there is an emergency, on modern Boeing and Airbuses, the fuel is drained to a certain landing weight.

And we, with such a take-off weight, with this fuel, landed the plane on the runway without overloads, ”he says.

According to him, the flight lasted 18 minutes, and all this time it was not clear whether it would be possible to land the plane.

“Some things are erased from memory, but this flight - 18 minutes - I remember thoroughly.

The landing gear was re-launched already on the landing straight.

The worst thing about this was that in the event of an unsuccessful landing approach, we had no chance to go around.

It was necessary to get on the strip, and I, as a navigator, was responsible for this.

I drove to the landing straight and thought that if I made the calculations incorrectly, then it would be impossible to correct the error.

But we were able to turn the plane around and land it at the airfield,” says Khabirov. 

He still keeps two wrecks of the engine: "Then the technician brought them from the field, and I asked to take them as a keepsake."

“I then had the idea that this is a reward.

And now, 25 years later, a state award was added to these my awards, ”Khabirov notes. 

• Salavat Khabirov / Turbine fragments of the Tu-134 engine

• © Photo from the personal archive

Flight mechanic Pyotr Filipov told RT how he did his part of the job: “We picked up passengers in Anapa, almost took off, and then a flock of cormorants crashed into our side from the left side.

We did everything that we practiced on simulators in these cases.

I immediately saw that on the instrument of the left engine, the arrows fell down, and the temperature of the gases crept under 900 degrees.

I turned off the fire valve, that is, the fuel supply to the left engine.

The fire extinguisher worked.

And the serviceable engine was given takeoff mode.

Gained, in my opinion, 450 m height.

We reported to the dispatcher, made a box - this is the approach and landing pattern, certain points to get on the runway.

The dispatcher immediately declared an emergency to everyone who was in the air or landing, cleared the area and gave the command to the fire engines. 

When the pilots landed the plane, they saw that a field was burning in front of them.

“We were surprised: “Why is it burning, who set it on fire?”

It turned out that it caught fire from our debris - half of the burning engine flew onto the runway.

Then the flight director arrived, and he and the commander went to inspect the runway, ”recalls the flight mechanic. 

According to Filipov, the cabin of the plane that day was almost full, half of the passengers were children.

“The next day, a large Tu-154 flew in, took our passengers and the passengers of the next day.

We were thanked for courage and professionalism in rescuing passengers and aviation equipment with entry in the work book and were given a bonus in the amount of salary, ”recalls the flight mechanic.

• Vladimir and Lyudmila Bylda / As part of the Ufa United Air Squadron

• © Photo from the personal archive

The daughter of the crew commander, Natalya Bylda, told RT what her father shared about this event: “Unfortunately, he died in 2007.

Mom would have told more, but in November last year she also died.

I remember he told us that he wasn't afraid when decisions had to be made.

But he still believed in miracles.

After that day, my father became devout.

My father was a brave, responsible, quick-witted, with a well-developed ingenuity, a strong and courageous person.

He was well treated by friends, colleagues, relatives.

Respected.

I'm proud of my father." 

Planting in a cornfield

The history of the Ufa pilots was remembered after the feat of Damir Yusupov, the pilot of Ural Airlines, who landed the plane in a corn field in 2019, says RT journalist from Ufa Stanislav Shakhov.

Also on russian.rt.com "Let's go to the right, into the sun, along the rows of corn": how the famous phrase was born after the landing of the A321 aircraft

“Against the background of this story, the local TV channel“ Vseya Ufa ”remembered that we had exactly the same situation many years ago.

It turned out that they (the crew members who landed the plane in 1996. -

) were not awarded any awards.

Then the TV channel nominated them for the local prestigious award "Hero of Our Time".

True, they did not win the statuette, but the head of Bashkiria, Radiy Khabirov, who was following the event, found out about the pilots.

Together with social activists, officials found all the documents on this story, during another business trip to Moscow, the head personally took the presentation to the presidential administration for an award.

“I want to express my gratitude to everyone, especially the veteran organization “Union of Pensioners of Russia” represented by Alexander Yegorovich Kuznetsov, who heads the Bashkir regional branch.

It was he who initiated and petitioned all state bodies for our crew to be awarded,” says Salavat Khabirov.

Speaking about the landing of the liner in a cornfield, flight engineer Pyotr Filipov explained how this case differed from the emergency landing in 1996: “Almost a similar situation.

But they had a field ahead, and we had the sea.

The most dangerous thing in aviation is takeoff and landing.

Especially in the heat, as it was then: the engines pull less.

Co-pilot Konstantin Buzanov added that the plane, which was flown by Damir Yusupov, collided with birds in the air when the speed was already sufficient.

“I think it was more difficult for us.

We still had to take off without an engine.

But we were taught to fly on one engine.

Vladimir Anatolyevich was an excellent commander.

He took control, and all the commands were given clearly, clearly, understandably.

The crew was absolutely calm.

The second engine worked properly.

Even now I give the highest rating to the crew commander, ”says the pilot.

Salavat Khabirov said that the relatives of commander Vladimir Bylda were pleasantly surprised that they had not forgotten about him: “His children and grandchildren live in Ufa.

I met with them when the publications went.

It's been a long time.

And this award is an example for the younger generation.

We are pleased with the fact that historical justice has been restored, despite the fact that many years have passed.

We only had 18 minutes and we did our job.

We didn't expect any awards."