Navigator blames “Silk Way”

Baku/17.04.21/Turan: The instructor-navigator of the “Silk Way” airline Igor Alasgarov accuses her of organizing dangerous flights. In a letter to the Turan agency, Alasgarov says that the planes of this Azerbaijani airline fly with insufficient fuel in their tanks for safe operation.

I. Alasgarov writes:

- For 16 years of my work in a position from an ordinary navigator to a navigator-instructor, I have many times encountered violations of flight laws by "flight officials".

On 11.30.1995, a Boeing-707 of the Baku-Avia cargo airline crashed during the landing approach in Baku due to lack of fuel to go to an alternate airfield.

On September 5, 2019, an IL-76 aircraft landed at Baku airport with insufficient fuel for the safe completion of the flight. That is, in the event of a departure to an alternate airfield, it would be another disaster. As an official on duty, I reported this in accordance with the established procedure.

After 9 months – 07.12.2020, the airline management decided to "punish" me. On September 24, 2020, after three months of discrimination and lies, I was fired under Article 70 "C", writes Alasgarov. He believes he has been punished for his reports of emergency hazards on the company's planes.

After his dismissal, I. Alasgarov appealed to the Khazar District Court, which considered the termination of the employment contract with him lawful. After the trial, the navigator appealed to law enforcement agencies, to the president and vice president of the country, the anti-corruption committee, to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, with a request to deal with corruption in aviation. There was no answer.

Alasgarov filed a claim with the Baku Court of Appeal. The case was heard on 04.02.2021 and the judges recorded violations in the decision of the court of first instance, the next hearing will be on April 30.

Alasgarov demands restoration at work. However, he receives anonymous threatening calls. An unknown person, introducing himself as employees of the Department for Combating Organized Crime, intimidates Alasgarov demanding that he withdraw the claim from the Court of Appeal.

In a conversation with the head of the “Silk Way” legal department, Nazir Mustafayev, Turan's correspondent learned that the labor contract with Igor Alasgarov had been terminated due to the navigator's violation of safety regulations: he did not submit a flight report on time.

The court documents contain testimonies from Alasgarov’s colleagues. The deputy director for flight operations, Sahib Kazimov, reported in court about the alcoholic drink that Alasgarov had drunk after the flight. Senior navigator Samir Gadimov and pilot Rovshan Cumayev spoke about the high professionalism, at the same time, complex personal qualities of Alasgarov. The crews asked the management not to appoint Alasgarov for flights, since he does not get along with the team.

The court is studying the legality of terminating the employment contract with Alasgarov. For the public, it is much more important to clarify the truth about the dangerous operation of aircraft at “Silk Way” Airlines.

Nazir Mustafayev says that he is not an expert in this area and cannot tell Turan whether the fuel in the planes is insufficient and how this threatens flight safety. In connection with telephone threats, the lawyer suggests Alasgarov to contact the Ministry of Internal Affairs. –0—