BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 29. The unanimous view reached by both domestic and foreign experts is that the pilots saved dozens of lives by making the most optimal landing at the time, Azerbaijan's Minister of Digital Development and Transport Rashad Nabiyev said, TurkicWorld reports.
He made the remark at a farewell ceremony at Heydar Aliyev International Airport for three crew members - pilots Igor Kshnyakin, Alexander Kalyaninov and stewardess Hokuma Aliyeva - who died in a plane crash near Aktau.
"Courage, professionalism, and bravery of airplane captain Igor Kshnyakin, pilot Alexander Kalyaninov and flight attendant Hyokuma Aliyeva are widely covered not only in Azerbaijani but also in international media.
The whole world literally admires the current level of our pilots and aviation. We believe that the courage shown by our pilots has left a new trace in the heroic page of Azerbaijan. Their name will be written in golden letters not only in the history of Azerbaijani aviation but also in the history of world aviation," the minister added.
The passenger plane Embraer 190 belonging to Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), flying on the Baku-Grozny route, crashed 3 kilometers from Aktau airport on December 25.
A total of 67 people (62 passengers and 5 crew members) were on board the airplane.
On December 26, 14 injured and the bodies of four dead were delivered to Azerbaijan.
On December 28, the bodies of three crew members (pilots Igor Kshnyakin, Alexander Kalyaninov, and stewardess Hokuma Aliyeva), as well as 21 passengers, were returned to Azerbaijan.
