Anastasia Kshnyakina, the daughter of Azerbaijan’s National Hero Igor Kshnyakin, has shared memories of family traditions and her final conversation with her father before the fatal flight.
According to Idman.Biz, Anastasia said that their family had a special tradition of gathering in the evenings around the tea table, where her father would talk about his flights. She noted that a day before departure he knew he would be flying to Grozny and said he would return home immediately after completing the flight, as he wanted to celebrate the New Year with his family. It was his favorite holiday. However, as she recalled, he never made it back home.
It is worth noting that exactly one year has passed since the crash of an Embraer 190 aircraft operated by Azerbaijan Airlines on the Baku–Grozny route. The plane crashed near the city of Aktau. There were 62 passengers and five crew members on board, a total of 67 people. As a result of the tragedy, 38 people were killed and 29 were injured. Three of the victims were crew members.
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed an order awarding individuals who showed high professionalism and courage during the Embraer 190 crash. According to the decree, crew members Igor Ivanovich Kshnyakin, Aleksandr Georgiyevich Kalyaninov and Hokuma Jalil gizi Aliyeva were posthumously awarded the title of National Hero of Azerbaijan.
It should be recalled that the late pilot Igor Kshnyakin was the father of Azerbaijan national team gymnasts Anastasia and Darya Kshnyakina.
