Kaloev killed. Vitaliy Kaloev, who avenged the family who died in a plane crash: Even if Schwarzenegger shows me in the film as a savage with a knife, I won’t worry. Who is your wife

Sixteen years ago, a terrible plane crash occurred in the skies over Germany, which claimed the lives of 71 people - 52 children and 19 adults. They were passengers and crew Russian aircraft Tu-154 and cargo Boeing-757. On the night of July 1-2, 2002, aircraft collided in Germany due to an error by Swiss air traffic controllers.

How did the Tu-154 collide with the Boeing-757

Tu-154 of the Bashkir Airlines company performed chartered flight from Moscow to Barcelona, ​​a DHL cargo Boeing-757 flew from Bergamo, Italy to Brussels. On board the Tu-154 were 12 crew members and 57 passengers - 52 children and five adults. The children flew to Spain on vacation. They were presented with a ticket at the UNESCO Committee of Bashkiria for their excellent studies.

On the plane was a family from Vladikavkaz - Svetlana Kaloeva with 10-year-old Kostya and four-year-old Diana. They were heading to the head of the family, the architect Vitaly Kaloev, who worked in Barcelona under a contract.

Colliding with a cargo plane, the Tu-154 fell apart in the air into several parts. They fell in the vicinity of the city of Überlingen (Federal State of Baden-Württemberg). The debris was scattered in a 40 radius square kilometers. Rescuers searched for the bodies of the dead for a week, finding them in the field, next to buildings and on the side of roads.

The tragedy happened just minutes after German air traffic controllers handed over escort of the Russian aircraft to colleagues from Switzerland, who were located at the SkyGuide air control center operating at Zurich-Kloten Airport.

The fault of dispatcher Peter Nielsen

On that fateful night, one dispatcher, Peter Nielsen, was on duty at work, despite the fact that, according to the rules, two were supposed to be. The Dane ordered the Tu-154 crew to descend, while the liners approaching each other no longer had the opportunity to occupy safe echelons.

Later, the media learned that the main equipment for telephone communication and automatic notification of the center's personnel about the dangerous proximity of aircraft was turned off. The main and backup telephone lines were not working. The dispatcher of the German Karlsruhe drew attention to the dangerous approach of the aircraft. The man tried to call 11 times, but it did not work.

At first, Nielsen continued to work after the disaster, but then SkyGuide fired him.

Revenge of Kaloev: more than 20 stab wounds

Heartbroken Vitaliy Kaloev, who was waiting for his family in Spain, was one of the first to arrive in Germany, at the scene of a plane crash. At first special service they did not want to let him into the tragedy zone, but they agreed when they found out that he agreed to search for the bodies of the dead with them. As a result, in the forest, Kaloev found a pearl necklace that belonged to his daughter Diana. To the surprise of the rescuers, the girl's body was almost not injured. Later, the bodies of his son and wife, disfigured by the catastrophe, will be discovered.

Having learned from journalists about the fault of the dispatcher in the accident, Kaloev persistently made many attempts to talk with the airline's management. He asked the same question about the degree of Nilsen's guilt in what had happened. It is known that the director of the company was very frightened of the “Russian with a beard”.

Then Kaloev decided to talk directly with the Dane. He asked Skyguide to facilitate this meeting. At first they agreed, but then flatly refused and did not explain the reasons for this. During the mourning events dedicated to the anniversary of the tragedy, Kaloev again approached the leaders of the Swiss company, but they refused to answer him.

On February 24, 2004, a Russian killed Nielsen in his home in the Zurich suburb of Kloten. Kaloev came to the dispatcher's house to show him photos dead wives and children. He wanted the man to repent of his deed. But Nielsen pushed him away, as a result, the pictures fell to the ground. Kaloev lost control of himself and inflicted more than 20 hits on the dispatcher knife wounds from which he died. Nielsen is survived by his wife and three children.

Kaloev's punishment

The Swiss police very quickly came to the killer of the Dane. An orientation was sent out for a man of oriental appearance, who was dressed in black coats and trousers of the same color. Kaloev was found nearby in local hotel. During the interrogation, he told how he found out Nielsen's address and what happened in his apartment. According to him, he entered the dispatcher's house and showed him the photographs. And what happened then, heartbroken father and husband did not remember. He did not say anything more to the investigator.

It was decided to place him for examination in a psychiatric clinic. Experts found him sane, as a result, the court in October 2005 sentenced him to eight years in prison. Kaloev served his term in a Swiss prison. Meanwhile, already in the fall of 2007, the Swiss Supreme Court ruled to release him from punishment for exemplary behavior. Kaloev returned to his homeland in North Ossetia, where he was appointed Deputy Minister of Architecture and Construction of the Republic.

Investigation results, SkyGuide apology

In the spring of 2004, the German authorities published a conclusion on the results of an investigation into the disaster.

Experts came to the conclusion that the Swiss air traffic controllers were to blame for the collision of the Tu-154 of the Bashkir Airlines with a cargo Boeing. The control center in Zurich did not immediately notice the danger of two planes colliding at the same echelon. As a result, the Tu-154 pilots carried out the dispatcher's command to descend, while the on-board flight safety system required an urgent climb.

It wasn't until the experts' report was published that SkyGuide admitted its mistakes. Two years after the disaster, director Alain Rossier apologized to the families of the victims. On May 19, 2004, then Swiss President Joseph Deiss sent his counterpart Vladimir Putin an official letter of apology for the plane crash.

Inspired by the tragedy lake constance In 2017, The Consequences was released in the USA (the first title was 478) with Arnold Schwarzenegger in leading role.

On Thursday, September 20, there will be a press screening feature film"Unforgiven" directed by Sarik Andreasyan about a plane crash over Lake Constance. The famous Russian actor played the architect Vitaly Kaloev in the social drama

As many as 16 years have passed since the moment when the former architect from Vladikavkaz, Vitaly Kaloev, committed a murder Swiss air traffic controller. Through the fault of this employee, a plane crash occurred in which all his relatives died. Many are interested in what a man is doing today and whether he has a new family.

Previously

At that time, Vitaliy Kaloev worked in Spain, was engaged in construction, he did not see his wife and children for several months. Finally, the family had the opportunity to meet with the father of the family. When they were preparing for the trip, there were many circumstances due to which they did not have to go on this trip.

At first it turned out that there were no tickets, then the children were brought to the wrong airport, before the registration itself, the little daughter Diana was lost, but they flew against the odds.

For a long time after the death of his family, the man was waiting for retribution and punish Peter Nielsen, the dispatcher of the Swiss company Skyguide, who was responsible for the accident. However, Peter escaped with a fine and continued a happy and carefree life.

Having committed lynching against a young man, Kaloev did not admit his guilt, but did not deny what he had done, due to the fact that at the time of the murder he was in an insane state, and did not remember his actions at all. Although when the man was searching for Nielsen, he pursued one goal, he expected an apology.

Who knows, maybe if the young man behaved differently, then everything would have ended differently.

Vitaly was sentenced to 8 years in prison, while he was in prison in his name received a huge amount of correspondence. For 2 years, as many as 20 kg of letters have accumulated, when a man wanted to take them home with him, certain difficulties arose. The prison administration allowed to take only a specific weight, but even after freeing all the letters from the envelopes, it turned out to be more than expected. As a result, they decided to bypass the instructions and Kaloev was given all the mail.

After release

Only a few years later, the man was able to find a new family, Irina Dzarasova, who works as an engineer at Sevkavkazenergo OJSC, became his wife. The wedding took place quietly and imperceptibly in the circle of close people, according to Ossetian laws, the spouses did not register the marriage in the registry office. They live in a large beautiful house, with stucco and architectural delights.

When Vitaly built it, he hoped that his children and grandchildren would settle in it, but, unfortunately, the spouses do not have joint kids.

Almost immediately after his release from prison, Kaloev took the post of Deputy Minister of Construction in the Republic of North Ossetia. During his reign, many beautiful buildings were erected in Vladikavkaz, for example, a television tower on Bald Mountain with a cable car and observation deck which is spinning. The Caucasian Musical and Cultural Center includes an amphitheater and a school for talented children.

However, despite this, Vitaly believes that he spent his time on this earth in vain, because he could not save his family. The man does not want to perceive that there are facts that do not depend on him.

When asked by journalists whether he regrets the perfect act, Kaloev answered without hesitation: “If you did something for the sake of your relatives, then you can’t regret it, otherwise you will quickly roll down.” When they asked how he felt about the fact that Peter Nielsen had three kids left, Kaloev said this: “His wife watches and rejoices at how her children grow up, grandparents are happy that their grandchildren are strong and healthy, and who should I rejoice? »

Being in the position of Deputy Minister, Kaloev received every needy and tried to help, many appeals came from places of detention. Today Vitaly is retired and most of all wants to be left alone. In addition, the man has heart problems, he recently underwent bypass surgery.

The only thing he wants is to get to Moscow on Victory Day, take a photo of his father, who was an artilleryman, and join the Immortal Regiment.

This text is one of them. In 2002, in a plane crash over Lake Constance, Vitaly Kaloev lost his family. Due to an error by an employee of the Skyguide air traffic control company, two planes collided, 71 people died, including Kaloev's wife and two children. After 478 days, he killed air traffic controller Peter Nielsen and spent the next four years in a Swiss prison. 13 years later, a film was made about those events in the United States with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the title role. This is a drama about a man whose life suddenly collapsed. The prototype of the hero Schwarzenegger rarely communicates with journalists, but Vitaly Kaloev found the time to meet with a correspondent from Lenta.ru and talk about his fate.

Now he has more free time. He recently celebrated his sixtieth birthday and retired. For eight years he worked as Deputy Minister of Construction of North Ossetia. He was appointed to this post shortly after his early release from a Swiss prison.

"Vitaly Konstantinovich Kaloev, whose fate is known on all continents the globe, was awarded the medal “For the Glory of Ossetia,” the website of the Ministry of Construction and Architecture of the republic reports. “On the day of his 60th birthday, he received this highest award from the hands of Boris Borisovich Dzhanaev, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania.”

News from Hollywood and Vladikavkaz came in the second half of January with a difference of less than two weeks. "The film is based on real events: a plane crash in July 2002 and what happened 478 days later," the profile site imdb.com points out. The plane crash killed Vitaly's wife Svetlana and their children - eleven-year-old Konstantin and four-year-old Diana. All of them flew to the head of the family in Spain, where Kaloev designed houses. And on February 22, 2004, his attempt to talk to Peter Nielsen, an employee of the Skyguide air traffic control company, ended in the murder of the controller on the threshold own house in the Swiss town of Kloten: twelve strokes with a penknife.

“I knocked. Nielsen came out, - Kaloev told reporters " Komsomolskaya Pravda"in March 2005. - I first showed him with a gesture that he invited me to the house. But he slammed the door. I called again and said to him: Ich bin Russland. I remember these words from school. He said nothing. I took out the photographs, on which were the bodies of my children. I wanted him to look at them. But he pushed my hand away and sharply gestured for me to get out ... Like a dog: get out. Well, I said nothing, resentment took me. Even my eyes filled with tears. I extended my hand to him with the photographs for the second time and said in Spanish: “Look!” He slapped my hand - the pictures flew. And then it started.

Later, Skyguide's fault in the plane crash was recognized by the court, several of Nielsen's colleagues received suspended sentences. Kaloev was sentenced to eight years, but released early in November 2008.

In Vladikavkaz, Deputy Minister Kaloev led federal and international projects: the television tower on Lysa Gora - beautiful, with a cable car, a revolving observation deck and a restaurant - and the Valery Gergiev Caucasian Music and Cultural Center, designed in the workshop of Norman Foster. Both objects have passed all the formalities - it remains to wait for funding. The tower, apparently, is more needed: the current television tower in North Ossetia is about half a century old, the state corresponds. But the center is more unusual: several halls, an amphitheater, a school for gifted children. “A technically very complex project - linear calculations, non-linear calculations, each element separately and the entire structure as a whole,” the retired deputy minister assesses the work of Foster's colleagues.

Vitaliy Kaloev speaks more modestly and harshly about personal achievements: “I think that I lived my life in vain: I could not save my family. What depended on me is the second question. Vitaly avoids detailed judgments about what does not depend on him. The film "478" is no exception. Arnold Schwarzenegger Kaloev, in principle, appreciates for the role of "big, kind men." At the same time, the prototype is sure that Schwarzenegger (Victor in the film) will play what is written in the script, from which Vitaly does not expect anything good. “If it were at the household level - one question. But then Hollywood, politics, ideology, relations with Russia,” he says.

The main thing that Vitaly asks for is that there is no need to show that he fled somewhere, as in a European film based on the same plot. “He came openly, left openly, did not hide from anyone. Everything is in the case file, everything is reflected.

The authors of the Hollywood film assure that in the role of Vitaly Schwarzenegger will be revealed in a new way - not like " last Hero action", but as a purely dramatic artist. Actually, if you follow real events, otherwise it won't work. “At ten in the morning I was at the scene of the tragedy,” Kaloev testifies. - I saw all these bodies - I froze in tetanus, could not move. A village near Überlingen, there was a headquarters at the school. And nearby at the crossroads, as it turned out later, my son fell. Until now, I can’t forgive myself that I drove by and didn’t feel anything, didn’t recognize him. ”

To the question “maybe you need to forgive yourself more?” there is no direct answer. There is a reflection on what brought Vitaly Kaloev fame “on all continents of the globe”: “If a person went for something for the sake of relatives and friends, then you can’t regret it later. And you can't feel sorry for yourself. If you feel sorry for yourself for half a second - you will go down, you will go down. Especially when you are sitting: there is nowhere to hurry, there is no communication, all sorts of thoughts come into your head - and such, and such, and such. God forbid you feel sorry for yourself. About the family of Peter Nielsen, where three children remained, Vitaly said eight years ago: “His children grow up healthy, cheerful, his wife is happy with her children, his parents are happy with their grandchildren. And who am I to rejoice?"

It seems that most of all, Kaloev regrets the German volunteers and policemen from the summer of 2002: “My instinct has sharpened to the point that I began to understand what the Germans were talking about among themselves, not knowing the language. I wanted to participate in prospecting work They tried to send me away, it didn't work. They gave us a section further away, where there were no bodies. I found some things, the wreckage of the plane. I understood then, and I understand now, that they were right. They really couldn’t gather the required number of police officers in time - who was, half was taken away: who fainted, who else.

The Germans, according to Vitaly, “are generally very sincere people, simple". “I kind of hinted that I would like to put up a monument at the place where my girl fell, - instantly one German woman began to help, started fundraising,” says Kaloev. And then he returns to the days of the search: “I put my hands on the ground - I tried to understand where the soul remained: in this place, in the earth - or flew away somewhere. He waved his hands - some roughness. He began to get - glass beads that were on her neck. I began to collect, then showed people. Later, one architect made a common monument there - with a broken string of beads.

Vitaliy Kaloev is trying to remember everyone who helped him. It turns out not quite: “A lot of guys from everywhere gave money, for example, to my older brother Yuri - so that he would come to Switzerland once again and visit me.” For two years, every month they sent “a hundred local money in an envelope, for cigarettes” to Kaloev’s cell; on the envelope - the letter W, the secret of which the grateful addressee still wants to know. Special thanks - of course, to Taimuraz Mamsurov, the head of North Ossetia at that time: “I appointed him to the ministry here, helped there. Not to be afraid to come, as it was believed, to a criminal, a murderer for trial in Zurich, in order to support, for a leader of such a rank, it was worth a lot. Special thanks to Aman Tuleev, Governor Kemerovo region: “He just gave money three or four times, part of his salary. And in Moscow he also gave me a little dressing up.

And letters, recalls Kaloev, came from everywhere - from Russia, Europe, Canada and Australia. “Even from Switzerland itself, I received two letters: the authors apologized to me very much for what happened. When they released me, they said that I could take 15 kilograms with me. I went through the letters, put away the envelopes - all the same, one mail is more than twenty kilos. They looked, they said: “Okay, take both mail and things.”

“The Swiss deported Kaloev quietly and imperceptibly. The Russian side should have acted the same way. Instead, it's an ugly anti-legal show,” commented Vladimir Ovchinsky, a retired police major-general, now adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, on the solemn meeting of a Swiss prisoner at Domodedovo. Opponents of the glorification of Kaloev were especially protested by the statement of the Nashi movement: “Kaloev turned out to be ... A man with capital letter. And he was punished and humiliated for the whole country ... If there were at least a little more people like Kaloev, the attitude towards Russia would be completely different. Worldwide".

“I arrived, I did not expect that I would be so warmly welcomed in Moscow. Maybe it was superfluous - but in any case it was nice, ”says Vitaly Kaloev eight years later.

Photo: Valery Melnikov / Kommersant

“You can’t teach how to live after this,” he assures when it comes to the relatives of those killed in the plane crash over Sinai. - The pain may have dulled a little - but it does not go away. You can drive yourself to work, you have to work - a person is distracted at work: you work, you solve people's problems ... But there is no recipe. I still haven't recovered. But you don't have to go down. If you need to cry, cry, but it’s better to be alone: ​​no one saw me with tears, I didn’t show them anywhere. Maybe on the very first day. We must live with the fate that is intended. Live and help people.

Reception on personal matters with Deputy Minister Kaloev, of course, practically did not stop for all eight years: a national tradition plus the status of a famous fellow countryman. Ask for money for medicines, building materials for repairs, for someone to arrange a high-tech operation, - lists Vitaly. - I know, after all, both ministers-colleagues and their deputies - you turn to them. It didn't always work, but something did. Forty or fifty percent." The least refused schools, where they came for new windows or for overhaul. Or at all for a lecture from the Deputy Minister - "for high school students, about what principles should be in a person's life."

In a separate line - calls to Kaloev from the colonies. “How they got my phone number, I don’t know. “Can you send cigarettes?” - Of course, I will. There was a man with a surname, he knocked down an Uzbek with one blow in St. Petersburg, when he began to pester his son. They organized a teleconference, I spoke in his support.”

Now, most of all, Vitaly wants to be left alone: ​​“I want to live as a private person - that’s all, I don’t even go to work.” First, the heart: bypass. Secondly, Vitaly got married last year, thirteen years after the tragedy. The only thing he would like "from the public" is to come to Moscow on Victory Day, join the "Immortal Regiment" with a portrait of his father: Konstantin Kaloev, artilleryman.

“I was provoked a lot on the topic of how, for example, Bashkiria, where most of the dead on that plane came from, from Ossetia, Ossetia - from central Russia, - says Vitaly. - They meant, of course, to bring to talk about blood feuds and the like. I always answered this way: absolutely no different, because we are all Russians. A person who loves his family, his children, will do anything for them. There are many like me in Russia. If I hadn’t gone and gone through this path to the end - I just wanted to talk to him, accept an apology - then after death I would not have a place next to my family. I wouldn't want to be buried next to them. I wouldn't deserve it. And for them, we are all Russians anyway. Incomprehensible, terrible Russians.

For those who are just beginning to grow up today - high school students and students - the name of Vitaly Kaloev may not say anything, and the plot of the film "Unforgiven" promoted in Russia with Dmitry Nagiyev in the title role is fiction.

Older people have been voluntarily or involuntarily following the fate of the Ossetian architect for the last 16 years. How Vitaliy Kaloev lives today, whether his new family is happy, how he found the strength not to break after everything he has experienced - these questions concern many.

Exploded fates

At the beginning of the 2000s, Vitaly Kaloev was an architect from the city of Vladikavkaz, about whom news feeds and TV journalists knew nothing. He was a happy husband and father of two children, who for a while broke away from his family due to official business - he left to work in Spain. The wife and children missed Vitaly and a few months later decided to fly to visit.

Vitaliy Kaloev in his youth

They say that different things happened during the training: the lack of tickets for sale, an error with the airport, little Dianochka lost in the terminal of the air harbor. Vitaly's relatives nevertheless overcame this difficulty and boarded the plane.

Vitaly Kaloev with his family

The plane crash that occurred on Lake Constance on July 1, 2002, still does not fit in the mind. In the boundless sky, two liners (passenger and cargo) collided and crashed to the ground, taking 71 lives with them, three of them broke off in the Kaloev family.

Kaloev with his children

Late remorse

The father of the family, who died in an instant, found the strength to live on in order to wait for retribution: fair, according to the court. But this did not happen. The dispatcher, whose mistake was called the cause of the tragedy, was fined and left at large.

After this news, in 2004 Vitaly flew to Switzerland. He wanted to see repentance in the eyes of a man who ruined dozens of lives, but, according to his confession, he did not see it. Then the inconsolable head of the family picked up a knife.

Collision over Lake Constance

For the murder of the dispatcher, Kaloev was sentenced to 8 years, but left the prison ahead of schedule in 2007. He said that he did not remember the meeting with the dispatcher and the moment of the murder, but he did not deny that this was the work of his hands. Vitaly wanted repentance and apologies - but he could not get them.

Dispatcher Peter Nielsen, who caused the tragedy

For many, Vitaly is brutal killer who committed lynching, for many - a model of courage and justice. They say that the prison received hundreds of letters addressed to him from all over the world, which the prisoner could hardly take with him after his release. The prison administration made an exception, because the letters were much heavier than the luggage allowed to be taken out of the detention area.

Photos from the scene of the tragedy

Life after

After leaving prison, Vitaly Kaloev decided to continue his life (or start anew) in his native North Ossetia. Shortly after his release, despite a conviction under such a serious article, the man was hired by the government of the republic with the rank of deputy minister of construction. Under his leadership, new architectural dominants have grown in Vladikavkaz:

• a television tower with a cable car and an observation deck, towering over Lysa Gora;
• cultural and musical center with a school for talented kids and an amphitheater.

Vitaliy Kaloev after imprisonment

During his work in the ministry, Vitaly proved himself to be an official who was attentive to the fate of people, who did not let him pass by and did not formally react to any of the appeals of citizens, including prisoners.

Kaloev today is a pensioner who wants peace and quiet. These are the indications and recommendations of doctors after bypass surgery - surgery on a heart torn by tragedies, which not everyone can endure.

New Hope

Vitaliy Kaloev was able to find the strength in himself not only to preserve himself as a person useful to society, but also to create a new family. He is trying to protect his wife from publicity and gossip, it is difficult to find their photos on the network, the wedding took place quietly, in the family circle and without registration in the registry office - these are the true Ossetian laws and traditions.

Vitaly Kaloev at the grave of his wife and children

But inquisitive journalists still found out the details about the new wife of Vitaliy Kaloev. Irina Dzarasova at the time of her acquaintance worked at OJSC Sevkavkazenergo as an engineer. The couple live in a beautiful architectural house with stucco and architectural elements created by Vitaly.

To be honest, he built a family palace in which his children and grandchildren could be happy, but fate decreed otherwise. The only children in his life were a son and a daughter who died over Lake Constance. New family was formed in 2014, and a surge of interest in the Kaloevs began after the release of two films that interpret the events of the beginning of the "zero" associated with the name of Vitaly.

Architect Vitaly Kaloev

fate on screen

The first film based on the fate and deeds of Vitaliy Kaloev was shot in the USA with the participation of Arnold Schwarzenegger himself. The film "Consequences" sets out its version of events, in which, by and large, no one is to blame - just a tragic coincidence.

Frame from the film "Unforgiven" in the title role with Dmitry Nagiyev

Vitaly himself watched the movie and was dissatisfied. The hero of "Consequences" asks for something all the time - either pity, or compassion, and Vitaly still firmly says that he demanded specifics: first justice from the authorities, then an apology from the person. Kaloev has no doubts about the fault of the dispatcher, who left behind a wife and three kids.

How did it all start?

On July 1, 2002, a Tu-154 aircraft flew from Moscow to Barcelona, ​​carrying 52 children (most of them are the best students of UNESCO special schools, winners of various competitions, children of civil servants and leaders educational institutions), flying on holiday to Spain.

Before that, they were late for their flight - and the Bashkir Airlines organized an additional one. Moreover, other late passengers were also offered to use this flight. As a result, eight burning tickets were sold three hours before departure. Among the buyers was economist Svetlana Kaloeva from Vladikavkaz, who, with her ten-year-old son Kostya and four-year-old daughter Diana, was going to visit her husband, architect Vitaly Kaloev, in Barcelona. They didn't see each other for nine months.

How did the collision over Lake Constance happen?

At 21.35 UTC, the Tu-154 collided in the air with a Boeing 747 flying from Bahrain to Brussels (there were no passengers on board, only two experienced pilots). The accident occurred near the small town of Iberlingen, near Lake Constance, and, despite the fact that both aircraft at that moment were over the territory of Germany, air traffic the Swiss company Skyguide operated, and only two (!) air traffic controllers worked at the control center in Zurich during the night shift.

When one of them went on a break, only 34-year-old Peter Nielsen and an assistant remained on duty. At the same time, Nielsen had to work simultaneously at two terminals. Since some of the equipment in the room was turned off, the controller noticed too late that the planes were dangerously close to each other. A minute before the collision, he tried to correct the situation and transmitted instructions to the Tu-154 to descend, although automatic system warning of dangerous rapprochements, on the contrary, recommended the pilots to climb. The Boeing 747 also went down, but Nielsen did not hear his message, and also made fatal mistake, telling the Tu-154 crew that the Boeing was on the right (when in fact it was on the left).

Seconds before the collision, the pilots of the planes saw each other and made a desperate attempt to prevent a catastrophe - but this did not save them. 69 people on the Tu-154 and two Boeing pilots were killed. At the same time, despite the fact that some fragments of the liners fell into the courtyards of residential buildings, fortunately, no one was injured on the ground.

What happened after the tragedy?

Two years later, a commission set up by the German Federal Aviation Accident Investigation Bureau determined the cause of the collision and pointed out the errors of the Skyguide management, which did not provide the control center with enough personnel for the night shift (and for a long time put up with the fact that only one controller controlled air traffic while his partner was resting). In addition, the equipment that was supposed to tell about a dangerous approach was turned off for maintenance. The telephone connection was also disconnected, and the backup telephone line was faulty.

The day after the tragedy, no one knew about all the details, but one desperate person had already flown from Barcelona to Zurich, and then to Germany - to Iberlingen. At first, the police did not let him into the crash site, but he managed to convince them that his wife and children were on board the Tu-154. As a result, the man's personal search was crowned with the fact that he first found the beads of his daughter Diana, and then her body. This man's name was Vitaly Kaloev, and the pearl necklace he found gave the name to the Broken Pearl String memorial, which was later installed at the site of the tragedy.

Who is Vitaly Kaloev?

Vitaly Kaloev is an architect from Vladikavkaz. Most youngest child in the family of Ossetian teachers. He graduated from school with honors, served in the army, entered the Institute of Architecture and Civil Engineering, worked by profession. Until 1999, he headed the construction department in Vladikavkaz, until he signed a contract with one company and left for Spain to design houses.

© Igor Kubedinov / ITAR-TASS

Kaloev killed the dispatcher?

Then no one officially called Peter Nielsen the culprit of the collision, and Skyguide only temporarily suspended him from work and sent him to psychological rehabilitation, without even imposing penalties. A year after the tragedy, Kaloev arrived at the funeral ceremony in Iberlingen and, being in an excited state, terribly scared the head of Skyguide Alan Rosier. Then he went to the company's office, where he began to ask her employees if the dispatcher was to blame for what had happened, and to seek a meeting with Nielsen.

As a result, Kaloev received a photograph of the dispatcher at the Moscow detective agency, which he contacted after the disaster. On February 24, 2004, Kaloev appeared on the threshold of Nielsen's house, asked permission to enter and showed him pictures of his dead children so that he would apologize for what had happened. But, according to the architect, the dispatcher pushed him away, the photos fell to the ground - and then Kaloev "does not remember anything."

The court found that Kaloev inflicted 12 stab wounds on Nielsen, from which he died. The murder took place in the presence of the dispatcher's wife and his three children. Kaloev received eight years in a maximum security prison. However, after some time, the man repented and handed over the $150,000 compensation paid by the airline to the family of the dispatcher. Later, Kaloev was released ahead of schedule and returned to his homeland, where he was extremely warmly (almost like a hero) received at the airport, which contributed to the appearance of perplexed people.

Is Aftermath the first film to deal with this plane crash?

No, before that the collision over Lake Constance was covered in detail in two National Geographic TV series (“Air Crash Investigation” and “Seconds to Disaster”), several documentaries and the TV movie “Flying in the Night - Disaster over Überlingen”. It also formed the basis of a German film and even a Russian one.