American television network National Geographic aired an episode of the TV show Air Crash Investigations, which re-enacted the famous case of Air Astana flight 1388 when as a result of loss of control the crew made an emergency landing in extreme conditions, QazMonitor reports.
Air Astana Flight 1388 was a repositioning flight on the Lisbon-Almaty route that encountered severe maintenance issues almost immediately after takeoff on November 11, 2018. The crew reported a complete loss of control with the plane flipping over and diving sharply, creating a load on the airframe beyond what it was designed for.
During the accident, six people occupied the plane – three passengers and three crewmembers. The episode titled “Control Catastrophe” tells the story of captain Vyacheslav Aushev, first officer Bauyrzhan Karasholakov, and first officer in jumpseat Sergey Sokolov, as they attempt to navigate a seemingly uncontrollable situation.
“We will make it, we will survive," the pilots in the documentary recall their words to each other during the emergency.
After nearly ninety minutes in the air, the plane had to make a crash landing at the Beja airbase in Portugal. The only injury suffered was by one of the passengers who sprained their leg.
According to the invited experts, this incident has become a textbook case for both civil and military aviation as an example of performing an emergency flight.
