Warning: This article contains graphic description and video which some readers may find distressing
A black box recording revealed the final words of a pilot as the aircraft he was flying lost control and crashed after he allowed his kids in the cockpit.
On March 23, 1994, Russian airline Aeroflot – Flight 593 – carrying 63 passengers, nine flight attendants and three pilots crashed.
It had been traveling from Sheremetyevo International Airport, Moscow, Russia, to Kai Tak Airport, Hong Kong, China when relief pilot Yaroslav Vladimirovich Kudrinsky allowed his children into the cockpit and disaster struck.
Yaroslav’s two teenage children – 12-year-old Yana and 16-year-old Eldar ended up coming inside the cockpit to visit their dad, who then decided to let them play with the aircraft’s controls while the plane was on autopilot.
Despite autopilot being turned on, meaning the plane couldn’t be controlled by the children, when it was Eldar’s go to have a play, he ended up switching off autopilot for around 30 seconds, having pushed the controls too hard.
In this time, the teenager ended up in control of the aircraft’s movements which would lead to a catastrophic tragedy.
And the family’s interaction was caught on audio recording by the plane’s black box.
Black box recording
Yana can be heard complaining to her father just before he warns her, “Don’t run there, or they’ll fire us.”
As the plane unexpectedly began drifting to the right, veering off its intended course, Eldar quickly sensed that something was wrong.
