“Why the hell did they cancel the Club of the Funny and Inventive show?” this is the most harmless commentary in social networks regarding the plane crash in Kazan. Because of this tragedy, many Russians, and Muscovites in particular, were indignant with the change of the Channel One broadcasting schedule. “What a soulless generation we are,” milana_nazarova wrote. However, unlike her, some people openly showed their contempt for the crash of Boeing 737, which took lives of 50 people (44 passengers and 6 crew members). Some even were glad they did not live in Moscow and... could watch the Club of the Funny and Inventive show.
Monday, November 18, has been declared a day of mourning. Taxi drivers unanimously refused to charge the bereaved families. Irek Minnikhanov, son of Tatarstan president and Aleksandr Antonov, head of the Federal Security Service department in Tatarstan were killed in the crash. Also, Marharyta Oshurkova from Kremenchuk, born in 1958, who was on a long business trip in Russia, and Donna Carolina Bull, citizen of the UK, were on board of the ill-fated plane. The Consulate General of Ukraine in Nizhny Novgorod told The Day that the consul went to the site of the tragedy.
The Tatarstan Airlines company website says that the circumstances of the crash are being investigated. According to gazeta.ru, information about Aksan Giniyatullin, director general of the Tatarstan Airlines, disappeared from the website for a while. As the company representative explained, Giniyatullin “is currently at the airport along with other company representatives, where he settles all the technical matters.”
Boeing 737 flew from Moscow to Kazan. According to the representative of the operational team on the crash consequences liquidation, the crew reported the inability to land when the aircraft was 500 meters away from the end of the runway. This may indicate that some equipment broke down. The plane hit the ground while trying to make the second attempt at landing.
A year earlier, this very plane had already performed an emergency landing at the same terminal. According to one of the versions, sensors were triggered 20 minutes after the takeoff due to the depressurization of the cabin.
Tatarstan Airlines spokesperson Gulnaz Minnihanova said that there were no complaints about the plane’s technical condition. However, Interfax reminds that the crashed Boeing 737, which has been in service for 23 years, had had several precedents in its history and was among the first candidates to be withdrawn from the company’s fleet. Even though experts think it did not exceed its flight resource.
Ayder Muzhdabaev, deputy editor-in-chief of Moskovsky Komsomolets urges to avoid flying with Russian airlines in his Facebook. “Especially now and in December. According to the information given to me by knowing professionals, our pilots are loaded with tons of overtime hours now. They are suppressed financially, there is shortage of staff, and according to our traditions, the administration stifles any struggle for labor rights. And it is not a private matter anymore, it applies to all of us. If another plane crashes (heaven forbid, of course!), or a few of them even, it is not going to come as a surprise. As I was told, everything is pointing towards that. Nobody in Russian corrupt system can stop the chaos with the pilots being overworked. As a result, we have this prolonged tragedy,” Muzhdabaev wrote.
