An airport technician who had his leg amputated after being run over by a 77-tonne plane has spoken publicly for the first time.
Rail Khasanov, a Ural Airlines employee, was preparing the plane for take-off when the pilot unexpectedly started taxiing, crushing the 22-year-old’s legs at Koltsovo Airport in Yekaterinburg, Russia.
Footage from the incident shows Mr. Khasanov collapsing on the runway as the jet slowly advances toward him. The plane then halts, with Khasanov trying, but failing, to free himself.
Speaking out for the first time since the incident, which occurred in May, Rail recounted that he “felt his bones burst” as the Airbus A320 rolled over him.
“I remember the incident perfectly,” he said. “A huge wheel drove along my leg and stopped. In the first few seconds, I thought it was a nightmare, but I couldn’t wake up. I didn’t feel any pain at first because of the shock, but then I felt my bones burst.”
Khasanov explained that he was trapped under the plane for seven minutes before being taken to the hospital.
“I was fully conscious while I was lying under the plane, and I managed to write to my mother, ‘Mum, I was hit by a plane,’” he recalled. “Then I wanted to sleep. I was so thirsty because of the blood loss. In the ambulance, I managed to say what happened and then I passed out.”
Placed in an induced coma, Khasanov regained consciousness five days later. Upon waking, he discovered that his leg had been amputated at the hip.
“I woke up and looked around, and it didn’t look like heaven. I could see I was in intensive care with my mother next to my bed. I had no panic,” he said. “I had known even while I was under the plane that my leg didn’t have hope. But I was alive, chatting, talking.”
Investigators held the aircraft commander responsible for Khasanov’s injury and ordered him to pay compensation, reportedly around £16,000.
Reflecting on this, Khasanov said, “What else could I do? He has a family, children, a mortgage, a loan, a friend. Who needs a man to be sentenced for a crime and then not be able to fly and work? All their lives would be ruined.