That night, nothing suggested such a tragedy. Aeroflot flight 593 connecting Moscow to Hong Kong took place in optimal conditions: mild weather, recent aircraft in perfect condition, experienced crew. Commander Andreï Viktorovich Danilov, 40, had more than 9,500 flight hours, while his co-pilot Igor Vassilievitch Piskariov, 33, had 6,000. This trip therefore appeared to be a routine flight. And yet…
While the plane flies over Siberia on autopilot, co-pilot Piskariov makes a decision that will prove fatal: he invites his two children into the cockpit. A common and authorized practice, particularly during long-haul flights. His daughter Iana, 12, briefly took charge, followed by his brother Eldar, 15.
This is where the drama takes shape. The teenager, probably fascinated by the flight controls, exerts sufficient pressure on the stick to partially deactivate the autopilot. A light comes on on the dashboard, but no audible alarm sounds. The pilots, at first, did not notice anything abnormal.
The infernal spiral
The aircraft then begins a slow tilt to the right. When the crew finally realizes the situation, the angle has already reached 45 degrees – well beyond safety limits. The centrifugal force, which has become too great, literally pins the teenager to his seat. “Eldar, get up… Get down Eldar, do you see the danger?” his father cries helplessly.
A cascade of catastrophic events follows. The autopilot, partially engaged, attempts to maintain altitude by increasing engine power, while the pilots desperately try to regain manual control. These contradictory commands transform the Airbus into an uncontrollable monster. The aircraft pitched up, rose almost vertically, then went into a spin. Passengers alternately experience crushing forces and moments of weightlessness.
In just four minutes, the plane plunged 10,000 meters. It ultimately crashed into the Alatau mountains of Kuznetsk at 260 km/h, instantly killing all 75 people on board. The emergency services, slowed down by the snow and the rugged terrain, only reached the scene two and a half hours later, only to discover burning debris.
The investigation will reveal a cruel irony: to save the device, it would have been enough to let go of the controls. The Airbus A310 was in fact equipped with an automatic anti-stall system. But the pilots, never trained for such a situation, made the situation worse by trying to manually right the plane.
This tragedy led to major changes in civil aviation. Pilot training regarding autopilot management has been strengthened, and regulations on the presence of third parties in the cockpit have been considerably tightened.
- On March 23, 1994, an Aeroflot Airbus A310 crashed in Siberia, killing 75 people.
- The accident is caused by a 15-year-old boy at the controls who accidentally deactivates the autopilot
- This tragedy led to a major tightening of safety rules in cockpits
