Rogovenko Yurii
02.01.1989
Rogovenko Yuri Alexandrovich
An aircraft technician who died on 02.01.1989 in a fire in an IL-14 aircraft during refueling
***
The departure of the plane from Mirny was scheduled to take place at midnight on January 27. The crew and the engineering personnel were resting before the flight. In the evening, the pilots and the aircraft technician went to the airfield to fill up the plane with fuel. It all happened in mere minutes.
Suddenly, the operator on watch noticed a column of smoke. An Il-14 was burning. A fire alarm was sounded at the station.
The famous polar pilot Evgeny Kravchenko in his book That’s Ms. Antarctica to You (S Antarktidoy Tolko na Vy) said:
‘When you watch TV, you see fire crews and their trucks hurrying to the place of emergency: they are fully equipped and provided with necessary tools. One could get the impression it’s exactly the same in Antarctica. Alas, we are “equipped” only with wall-mounted fire extinguishers and the most primitive of tools, the main being the shovel yet again. That’s why there was no chance of rescue for the guys at all. The plane was filled up with over 6000 litres of petrol in total… So, what could the people of Mirny do watching teary-eyed as the fiery volcano devoured metal?’
The plane got burnt almost to a crisp. During subsequent examination, they found the bodies of three people: the pilots Valery Syomin and Alexey Ananyev, and the aircraft technician Yury Rogovenko were dead.
The investigation began. There were no direct witnesses of the tragedy. The commission established that the craft and the fuel dispenser had been functioning properly at the time of the fire. The main working theory was that a spark of static electricity had caused the ignition. Exceptionally dry Antarctic air, its strong winds and snow create perfect conditions for heavy static charges.
Following the results of the investigation, security measures were tightened and the procedure for filling up aircrafts was changed. Tragedies of that nature have never happened again.
An aircraft technician who died on 02.01.1989 in a fire in an IL-14 aircraft during refueling
***
The departure of the plane from Mirny was scheduled to take place at midnight on January 27. The crew and the engineering personnel were resting before the flight. In the evening, the pilots and the aircraft technician went to the airfield to fill up the plane with fuel. It all happened in mere minutes.
Suddenly, the operator on watch noticed a column of smoke. An Il-14 was burning. A fire alarm was sounded at the station.
The famous polar pilot Evgeny Kravchenko in his book That’s Ms. Antarctica to You (S Antarktidoy Tolko na Vy) said:
‘When you watch TV, you see fire crews and their trucks hurrying to the place of emergency: they are fully equipped and provided with necessary tools. One could get the impression it’s exactly the same in Antarctica. Alas, we are “equipped” only with wall-mounted fire extinguishers and the most primitive of tools, the main being the shovel yet again. That’s why there was no chance of rescue for the guys at all. The plane was filled up with over 6000 litres of petrol in total… So, what could the people of Mirny do watching teary-eyed as the fiery volcano devoured metal?’
The plane got burnt almost to a crisp. During subsequent examination, they found the bodies of three people: the pilots Valery Syomin and Alexey Ananyev, and the aircraft technician Yury Rogovenko were dead.
The investigation began. There were no direct witnesses of the tragedy. The commission established that the craft and the fuel dispenser had been functioning properly at the time of the fire. The main working theory was that a spark of static electricity had caused the ignition. Exceptionally dry Antarctic air, its strong winds and snow create perfect conditions for heavy static charges.
Following the results of the investigation, security measures were tightened and the procedure for filling up aircrafts was changed. Tragedies of that nature have never happened again.
Фото из архива семьи
