THIRTEENTH MINUTE EXTREME

With its nose steeply raised, the plane was rapidly rising upward.

 Suddenly, at the thirteenth minute of the flight, when the steel car took off above the clouds, at an altitude of 4000 meters, the ship’s technician, Captain Esengali Batrashev, reported that the scoreboard was on fire. Immediately, the instruments «informed» about the failure of the right engine.

On that day, the servicemen of the special forces of group «A», having completed their task in full, returned to the place of permanent deployment on the military transport aircraft «An-74T-200A».

Crashing into the blue sky, the aircraft gained altitude. An experienced first-class pilot, Major Alimzhan Matmusayev, is at the helm of the ship.

A picturesque scene was observed behind the window glass - the earth from a bird’s-eye view: first, the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk, immersed in greenery, and later hills, small rivers that streaked the local landscape up and down.

Major A .Matmusayev with a serious and stern face piloted accurately and for sure, his hands tightly gripped the steering wheel.

After making sure that all parameters are normal, the pilot turned on the autopilot. It would seem that now you can relax a little.

Undoubtedly, all responsibility for any flight rests with the commander of the ship, but safety also depends on the coordinated actions of the crew members.

Now the assistant to the commander of the ship, Captain Askhat Oguzbayev, concentrating on the map and flight and navigation instruments, prompts the commander to follow the course, speed and altitude.

Onboard technician Captain Yessengali Batrashev closely monitors the engine parameters, control of the power plant and a number of systems. His attentiveness and flair, developed over the years, is also a guarantee of safety.

It was the thirteenth minute of the flight.

 Suddenly the parameters of the plane went off scale.

The board lit up.

The devices «informed» about the rising temperature of the oil and the bearing.

 And then there was a failure of one of the engines.

The crewmembers looked anxiously at their commander.

- Do not panic! - Major A. Matmusaev said in a calm firm voice. - We work according to the instructions. We return to the take-off airfield and go for an emergency landing.

With confident movements, switching the autopilot mode to manual, Alimzhan Rustamovich took control of the ship and switched to level flight.

The commander of the ship reduced the engine operating mode, and immediately noticed that the oil pressure instantly dropped to zero.

He immediately gave the command to turn off the right engine. Otherwise, hot air, which, due to a malfunction, began to flow into the engine compartment, could ignite. (Looking ahead, I will say that later, when opening the engine, one of the metals was obsolete, and because of the hot air, the entire surface of the inner space was molten and in black soot. That is, only a few seconds remained before the fire.)

Without taking his eyes off the windshield or the so-called aviation lantern, the commander closed the left engine fire hydrant with one hand, so that the technician in his excitement would not accidentally confuse the instruments and turn off the serviceable engine.

Major A. Matmusayev’s precautions were in vain. The crew acted without fuss, clearly and confidently.

Captain A. Oguzbayev contacted the dispatcher and reported on the forced emergency landing of the aircraft.

Onboard technician-instructor Major E. Moldagulov warned the senior group of the Special Forces about the situation and his return to the airfield in Ust-Kamenogorsk.

All the manipulations took the flight crew a few seconds. Meanwhile, due to engine failure, asymmetrical thrust occurred, that is, the aircraft roll.

Major A. Matmusaev, countering the emerging tendency of the aircraft to roll, held the steering wheel, at the same time deflecting the pedal to the side opposite to the failed engine.

And at an altitude of 5,500 meters, having deployed a multi-ton steel machine, he took the opposite course.

A dead silence reigned aboard the ship. For the passengers of the An-74T-200A, the painful minutes of waiting and anxiety began.

But we must pay tribute: not a single muscle trembled on the serious, stern faces of the commandos. Of course, this is not surprising, because these guys on duty more than once had to be in extreme situations. And the crew members at this thirteenth minute were in the tenacious power of flight in their thoughts.

None of them made fussy unnecessary movements and did not show concern and incipient fear that a person involuntarily arises in such a non-standard environment.

It’s just that each of them focused even more on their duties, exchanging only glances and continuing to drive the steel car.

Everything is as usual. But it is precisely this “simplicity” that is called the skill of the flight crew.

After a long, tense final five minutes of a difficult flight, the familiar outline of the landing pad appeared ahead. The pilot made a U-turn and landed. The plane swung and, taxiing to the center line, skidded along the concrete strip.

As soon as its wheels touched the earth’s firmament, grateful applause was heard on board the ship.

The emergency landing of the aircraft, despite the fact that due to the mountain ranges near the airport, there was no opportunity to turn into a headwind and it had to land with a tailwind, which did not promise a successful landing, ended well.

It should also be noted that the landing was carried out with the maximum landing weight, as a result of which the ship commander had to maintain the maximum mode on the pre-landing strip.

But the pilot did an excellent job.

The clarity and professionalism of the ship’s captain and the entire crew ensured the most important thing - the life and health of more than 20 aircraft passengers.

Easily going down the ladder, the crew with a jubilant heart took their first steps on the ground of the Ust-Kamenogorsk airfield.

And upon returning to their home part, none of them said a word about the difficulties they experienced in the sky.

For everyone, this is a normal flight. It is an ordinary but beloved job.

***

Probably, the pilots are right, considering their work routine. Aviators know better. But this does not lessen the feat of the crew, who saved the lives of passengers and preserved expensive equipment.

The leadership of the border department appreciated the actions of the crew.

For their high professionalism in a non-standard situation, the crew of the An-74T-200A aircraft was awarded certificates of honor on behalf of the Deputy Chairman of the National Security Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan - Director of the Border Guard Service.

The commander of the ship, Major A. Matmusayev, was awarded the Order of Aibyn, II-nd degree for courage and dedication.