«You can do so much that you will be surprised»
The version with the intentional destruction of the work of Yevgeny Prigozhin's aircraft during its repair has the right to exist. Honored Military Pilot of the Russian Federation, retired Major General Vladimir Popov in an interview with MK said that there are «innumerable» ways to deliberately damage the aircraft.
In addition, the military pilot explained that the version of the piloting error, which was dismissed in the media ahead of time, should also be considered consequence.
– I do not rule it out, there are enough idiots. He himself faced betrayal, and more than once. I participated in almost all military conflicts of recent years, starting with Afghanistan. Personally performed combat missions or commanded. I remember how the enemy literally hunted for the generals. And we were forced to hide our names when we flew, we were forbidden to enter military ranks and so on in the documents in order to somehow protect ourselves. but for the money.
– When we worked in the Caucasus, we were betrayed for 2,000 dollars. Then the traitors were found, they, of course, cried, on their knees they begged for forgiveness. Therefore, it is not for nothing that we have military counterintelligence. In wartime, it is simply necessary, no matter what anyone says.
– Could.
– I have participated in the investigation of many disasters, I have been involved in expert assessments, and I have a very rich experience. But if I start talking about it, someone can then use it … I will say one thing: you can do so much that you will be surprised. And you can make it so that the mosquito does not undermine the nose.
At the same time, the pilot does not exclude a banal breakdown, which was not eliminated in time and which manifested itself during the flight
– The version of the terrorist attack, of course, has the right to exist. But, in my opinion, there may be metal fatigue: the plane still flew for 16 years. And this is not a commercial aircraft. I do not want to slander, but unlike a scheduled aircraft, this one could not be serviced so attentively. Because attentive service costs a lot of money. Flight safety, especially in civil spans, – this is an expensive pleasure … An emergency situation does not arise immediately, something provokes it, and the pilots may not immediately notice it. The later changes in flight, engine operation, some systems or units are detected, the worse it manifests itself later. Breakdowns are harder to repair. And most importantly – this is an emergency, which then, as a rule, develops into a tragedy.
– The pops could be related to engine surge. Surging – this is the mode of operation of the engine, when the plane, in simple words, seems to choke. To be honest, I was alerted by the Flightradar24 data, which showed a sharp climb. A sharp set may indicate that there was a loss of speed, and then the pilots abruptly “put in” turns that provoked the surge. It can be so strong that it breaks the blades. In military aviation, the pilot can eject, and in civil aviation – no…
At the same time, the expert drew attention to the fact that during private flights, discipline on board can be violated: the pilot, the door to the cockpit to which is open, can simply be distracted by passengers. At the same time, despite the fact that the aircraft flies on autopilot, the participation of the pilot is still necessary. In the case of Prigogine's jet, the pilots could simply not notice changes in the operation of the systems, pay attention to the loss of speed too late and take actions in a hurry, which ultimately turned out to be fatal for the crew and passengers.