Kazakh Bek Air: co-pilot of crashed plane made mistake

By Trend

The second pilot of the crashed Bek Air company’s plane made a mistake deciding to reduce engine operation, Bek Air CEO Nurlan Zhumasultanov said, Trend reports with reference to Kazakh media.

Zhumasultanov also commented the theory that the plane’s icing could have led to the crash.

On Jan. 10, Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar said that Interstate Aviation Committee considers icing of the plane to be the main reason for Bek Air's plane crash.

“I agree, because this theory confirms the presence of external effects on the aircraft,” Zhumasultanov said.

He also noted that the decision to treat the aircraft with anti-icing fluids is for the aircraft pilot to make, based on the state of the aircraft’s surfaces.

“If the pilot did not treat the wing of the plane, then he had reasons for this, meaning the wing was clean and dry,” he said.

Zhumasultanov also commented on the decision of the second pilot to decrease the plane’s speed.

“Shortly after the take-off, the plane started swinging from side to side to which the commander reacted with 'What is happening?' question, and the second pilot answered: 'It’s the stabilizer, slow down'. And we must admit that the plane has already passed the speed at which it was safe to slow down as the plane was already in the air. The second pilot made a mistake when he reduced the engine operation mode,” Zhumasultanov said.

On the morning of Dec.27, 2019, the Fokker-100 plane of Bek Air airline implementing flight on the route Almaty – Nur-Sultan lost its height during take-off and broke through a concrete fence, colliding with a two-story building.

According to the latest data, 12 people died, and 66 were injured as a result of the Bek Air's plane crash on Dec. 27. A total of 98 people were on the plane, including nine children and five crew members.

Shortly after the accident, Bek Air company’s operations were suspended, as well as the use of Fokker-100 type aircraft in Kazakhstan.