A black day for football history. A terrible plane crash
This is one of the most tragic stories in the history of football. Exactly 47 years ago, on August 11, 1979, Pakhtakor Tashkent players and coaches died.
It was a terrible day for world football. As a result of a fatal error that flowed from the air traffic control tower over Dneprodzerzhinsk (today’s Ukraine), two passenger planes collided.
178 people died in the crash (all participants of the crash, from both planes), including players and coaches of the best team in the history of Uzbek football, Pakhtakor Tashkent.
Two planes collided at an altitude of 8,400 meters. Unfortunately, there was no chance that anyone could survive such a disaster…
A shocking tragedy in the history of football. Another anniversary and the memory of the dead continues
The direct cause of the collision were incorrect orders given to the crews of both planes by controllers from Kharkov – Nikolai Zhukovsky and Vladimir Sumsky.
– I’m not running away from responsibility, but it’s impossible to say who was at fault. If I can confess, others should too. We are all a little guilty, said one of the flight controllers, Vladimir Sumsky, after the tragedy.
Krystian Juźwiak wrote more about this unimaginable tragedy a few years ago in TVP Sport.
The Pakhtakor team flew from Tashkent, with a stopover in Donetsk, to Minsk to meet the local Dynamo. There were 17 people from the club on board, including players and members of the coaching staff.
The tragedy completely ruined Uzbek football. Pakhtakor was one of the most beloved teams in the Soviet Union at the time, and many of the players who died at the time were the heart of that generation.
Shockingly, for a week(!), news about the disaster was largely hidden from the residents of Tashkent. The KGB, under threat of severe consequences, forbade the victims’ families from talking about the disaster.
Finally the terrible truth reached the city. It became clear that the entire football team was gone. It is worth adding that every year, on August 11, celebrations are held to commemorate that much-lamented Pakhtakor Tashkent team.
This year was no different. Representatives of the football community, experts, veterans, the management of the Tashkent club and representatives of the current team, fans and young academy players gathered again at the symbolic monument.
Pachtakor is the most successful club in Uzbekistan since the creation of an independent league in the country. This year the club celebrates its 70th anniversary.
