Yesterday was the birthday of the pilot of the Air Force “MiG-29” plane, martyred lieutenant colonel Rashad Atakishiyev. Born on January 7, 1985 in Kilincbeyli village of Shamkir district, Rashad Saladin oglu Atakishiyev received his first education at Shohrat Huseynov’s Kilincbeyli village secondary school, and then at Alabaslhi village secondary school of Samukh district. In 2002-2006, he studied at the Azerbaijan Higher Military Aviation School, qualified as a flight engineer, and started working as a pilot. Thanks to his acquired knowledge and skills, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel, and in a short time he was promoted to the rank of experienced pilots and the position of deputy commander of the military unit. On July 24, 2019, around 22:00, communication with the MiG-29 aircraft belonging to the Azerbaijan Air Force, which was conducting night training flights according to the plan, was suddenly lost and the aircraft disappeared from the radars. The plane fell into the Caspian Sea. As a result of the accident, the pilot of the plane, lieutenant colonel Rashad Atakishiyev, went missing. According to the information provided by the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan on August 19 of that year, the black box of the plane was found. A day later, the body of the pilot was found. On August 21, 2019, the remains of Rashad Atakishiyev were buried in the Second Alley of Honor. On May 7, 2021, military pilot lieutenant colonel Rashad Atakishiyev was given the status of a martyr.
Publika.az reports that political scientist Gabil Huseynli’s son-in-law – martyred pilot R. Atakishiyev’s plane crashed into the Caspian Sea – revealed some points to Medianews.az.
Referring to the statements of the pilot’s commander, he said that on that day, exercises were conducted to destroy the hypothetical enemy: “The commander of the military unit said that at that time, training was conducted in accordance with real combat conditions. Rashad Atakishiyev was assigned to shoot down a hypothetical enemy plane during the training. After making a 360-degree circle around the conventional enemy aircraft, he destroyed the target with cannon fire. The commander said that the operation was successful and ordered all three pilots to return to the base. The pilots of the two planes responded to the command and returned to the base. However, there was no response from Rashad’s plane. The commander again ordered to return to the base through the communication link and asked if the order was heard. Still, there was no response to the command from Rashad’s plane. The military unit was immediately contacted, and they said that Rashad’s plane disappeared from the radar a moment ago. After that, the other planes made several rounds of the flight area and returned to the base due to low fuel. Search helicopters and additional planes were launched, the training area was investigated, but no trace of Rashad’s plane was found. After searching for about a month, the place where the plane fell into the Caspian Sea was determined, and both Rashad’s body and the plane’s black box were found.”
Political scientist G. Huseynli, clarifying whether there was a trace of a foreign country in the incident, said that the plane did not crash into a flock of birds, as it was said, it was interfered with from outside, and fired from a long distance. had come out. There were no technical faults in the military vehicle. Moreover, the professionalism of the pilot Rashad Atakishiyev could not be questioned. I don’t know a professional co-pilot like him. The Ministry of Defense put forward the fact that the plane was interfered with from outside, and stated that the plane encountered a flock of birds. If there is an encounter with a flock of birds, the pilot knows it immediately and catapults, realizing the impossibility of saving the plane. As a result, even if the equipment fails, the pilot can protect himself. Unfortunately, this did not happen. Therefore, I assume that the plane was not hit by a flock of birds, it was interfered with from outside in some form, fired from a long distance. It was as a result of this fire that the military plane was disabled, and the pilot was fatally injured. In the investigations conducted by the Ministry of Prosecution and Defense, the conclusion reached is that the plane encountered a flock of birds, and the equipment broke down as a result of the birds entering the plane’s wings.
