Leave your comment. From Dosaaf flying club to air ambulance
Ekaterina Oreshnikova, the only female pilot in the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations. She took part in many major search and rescue operations, and together with her colleagues saved hundreds of lives:
“There were no pilots in our family, but my dad worked as an aviation engineer and I received my first knowledge about aviation from him. I became “sick” with this topic after watching the movie “Night Witches in the Sky” in 9-10 grade.
He talked about the feat of Soviet pilots who bombed Nazi troops at night during the Great Patriotic War. The film was directed by Evgenia Andreevna Zhigulenko, flight commander of a night bomber aviation regiment, Hero of the Soviet Union. I think that’s why she was able to create such believable images of brave and selfless female pilots, because she was making a film about what she experienced and felt herself. This picture turned my world upside down. And I clearly decided for myself that I would become a pilot.
About youth
Previously, it was difficult for girls to break into aviation. I interested my friend with my enthusiasm and interest in the flying profession. Together we decided to enter flight school. But at that time we had little information on how to become a pilot, and at first glance, an absolutely crazy idea came to our young hot heads. We decided to ask advice from experts in their field. The choice fell on no less than Valentina Grizodubova. She was a legendary Soviet pilot, a participant in the Great Patriotic War, who personally flew combat missions. Now I would never take such an adventure, but at that time the passionate desire to fulfill a dream and achieve a goal was stronger than fear or embarrassment.
About the meeting
By some miracle we found her home address. She lived in the center. And so we approach, with our hearts pounding, to the door of her apartment. A moment - and she is in front of us. Valentina Grizodubova. A man whom we saw only from the pages of newspapers and the TV screen. Calm, confident. She was no longer young, but retained her majestic beauty. I remember her eyes. Strict, but at the same time kind. She retained her liveliness of character, optimism, and, despite her advanced years, a clear mind. She listened to us with surprise. Then she invited me to come in. In the apartment I remember her huge portrait. She, Valentina, is beautiful, young, in military uniform... And then we talked for a long time. She told us that you cannot give up on your dreams, no matter how hard it is, that you need to stubbornly pursue your goal. This meeting was fateful.
The flying club gave me a referral to the Zaporozhye Aviation School of DOSAAF USSR Pilots. My friend didn’t get in, unfortunately, but I passed the competition and became one step closer to my dream. Only five people accepted us. This was considered a very large flow at that time. The years of study were difficult, but very interesting. I graduated from the flight school and the Moscow Aviation Institute, and in 2000 from the Moscow State Law Academy. The times were difficult; without work experience it was difficult to get a job. In 1991, I was very lucky: the general director of Moscow Airways at Sheremetyevo, Vladimir Kastyrin, believed in me and hired me. And when the opportunity arose to join the Ministry of Emergency Situations squad, my daughter was only seven months old. My family did everything so that I could work. All her relatives sat with Maria in turn, including her husband.
About mentors
I am very grateful to my mentors. We had very good teachers at MAI. And the flight instructors who taught me “put me on the wing” - in general, real aces. Until now, during my work, I remember their invaluable advice on how to act in a given situation. I am very grateful to fate that I had such teachers.
Now I work at the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, an aircraft commander. I am on duty at BO-105. We deliver victims of car accidents and seriously ill children from remote areas of the Moscow region to hospitals in the capital. When a call comes in, we must take off within a maximum of 30 minutes. In addition to two pilots, the crew also includes a resuscitator. We are on duty 2-3 times a week during daylight hours. Our Boshka helicopter is an ideal option for working in the city. Flights over Moscow are allowed at an altitude of 150 meters. You cannot fly in fog, thunderstorms, snowfall, or wind speeds exceeding 15 m/s. “Boshka” is often called an air ambulance. This is a compact, nimble, but very reliable helicopter; it does not need much space for landing. My total flight time is about 4 thousand hours.
I am often asked if I feel morally satisfied with my work. In the Ministry of Emergency Situations, people do not work for money, ranks or titles. These are real enthusiasts. When we deliver resuscitators or rescuers by helicopter to the scene of an emergency, who do the main work when we manage to save a person, we feel like an integral part of a single coherent system.
About the fragility of life
I often think about the fragility of human life. It is impossible to get used to human pain and suffering; it is impossible to be indifferent to it. I still remember one of my first flights to an accident in great detail. It was a major car accident near Iksha. A married couple with two children was returning from the dacha. They were hit by a jeep that flew into oncoming traffic. The whole family died. The doctor tried to save the girl until the last minute, but she could no longer be helped. We took the person responsible for the accident to the hospital, who only suffered a concussion. This fragility of human life, the carelessness with which some treat it, shocked me.
Sometimes I had to spend at least 30 days on business trips. My husband Valery, also a pilot, is sympathetic to my work. He is part of a dynasty of pilots. We met at work. We had a funny story. They worked in the same squad, on the same car, but never saw each other, since they flew in different crews, on different shifts. My husband is tall, he customized the workplace for himself. And I moved the pedals closer. Every morning we were indignant at the actions of another, they said, he just adjusted the pedals to suit himself, and then someone took it and changed everything! One day they show me the pilot and say: “Here he is, your replacement.” I looked at him with interest. Then Valera came up and got to know each other. Fate. Now we have a daughter, she is in the 10th grade.
About rescue operations
If major emergencies occur, including abroad, the forces and resources of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations are involved. In August 2007, we helped put out fires in Greece. Forest fires engulfed almost the entire Peloponnese peninsula. In the village of Ancient Olympia, the inhabitants were cut off by a wall of fire; they could have died at any moment. Our Be-200ChS amphibious aircraft, Il-76, and Mi-26 and Mi-8 helicopters worked to extinguish the fires. The air, hot due to the fires, and hurricane winds created serious obstacles to the work of the pilots. The amphibian dropped more than twelve tons of water at a time. We used a Mi-8 with a special three-ton drainage device to deliver water from reservoirs to fire sites. Thanks to our efforts, there was a turning point in the battle with the elements, and the fire began to subside.
About difficulties
In May 2012, I participated in a search operation at the crash site of a Superjet-100 plane in Indonesia, which crashed into Mount Salak during a demonstration flight. This was one of the most difficult rescue operations, the working conditions were truly extreme. The plumb of the rock was more than 80 degrees. The wreckage of the plane was at an altitude of more than two thousand meters, in the impenetrable jungle. The Indonesian military made a small platform on the mountainside where helicopters landed. We delivered rescuers to the search site, tools, and supplies. The search operation was completed when all the bodies and black boxes were found. “I want to point out that our pilots and rescuers are respected all over the world.”
» Department of Civil Defense and Safety. She took part in many major search and rescue operations and, together with rescuers, saved hundreds of lives.
For many people, the profession of a pilot or astronaut is a childhood dream. At what point did the sky “call” you? What was the reason?
There were no pilots in my family. However, my dad worked as an aviation engineer, and I received my first knowledge about aviation from him. In general, I was a humanities major at school. My mother was a teacher, she taught history. I did very well in humanities subjects. But somehow, closer to high school, the film “Night Witches in the Sky” was shown on TV. The film was directed by Evgenia Zhigulenko, flight commander of a night bomber aviation regiment, Hero of the Soviet Union. And when I watched this film, it really shocked me, and I realized that I also wanted to fly.
- How and where did your training take place?
When I was in school, in high school, when the question of choosing a specialty arose, I decided to become a pilot. At that time, however, I did not know what schools and institutes there were, what type of plane or helicopter I would fly, and in general how to realize my dream. Previously, it was difficult for girls to break into aviation. But fate decreed that an athlete was recruited into the first Moscow city flying club to fly the Mi-2 helicopter. At the same time, I studied at the Moscow Aviation Institute, and then received a referral from the flying club to the Zaporozhye Aviation School of Instructor Pilots DOSAAF of the USSR, then it still existed. At that time in Soviet times, this was the only school where girls were accepted to study. Because in all flight schools it was written: males are accepted. The entrance competition was very large. That year, 5 of us entered from all over the USSR. And this was considered a large set, usually there were three people, but here there were five at once. Previously, there were completely different laws, and now it is much easier to do if one of the girls wants to fly. Now there are sets, if there is a desire.
- How difficult was it to train as a pilot in Soviet times?
In total, there were six squadrons at the Zaporozhye Aviation School of Instructor Pilots of the USSR DOSAAF. The cadets went through theory and learned to fly helicopters, airplanes and gliders. And for all six squadrons, for three courses (because we studied for three years) there were 30 girls. In the squadron where I studied, there were five of us, including me. We had a very strong set. These were guys and girls who really wanted to work in aviation. And not just work in aviation, but fly. And they devoted a lot of time and effort to this. But, unfortunately, there was a time when, after graduation, no one needed us. You remember very well what time it was - 1991. But after some time, I was extremely lucky, because then I was hired by the airline - Moscow Air Lines at Sheremetyevo. There was such an airline, and its General Director of the airline, Vladimir Ivanovich Kostyrin, retrained me to fly the Mi-8 helicopter. And it was thanks to this that I was able to fly not just as an athlete at a flying club, or a cadet at a flight school, but as a professional pilot. I got the chance to continue my studies with experienced pilot instructors and gain flying experience. And then the Ministry of Emergency Situations aviation was formed. I transferred to the Ministry of Emergency Situations aviation and worked there for a very long time.
In the photo: Ekaterina Oreshnikova, PIC BK117S-2, Moscow Aviation Center
- Tell us about your experience as a pilot in the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations.
Each challenge is memorable in its own way. I especially remember one of the first flights to an accident, when I felt the transience of human life. It was a major car accident near Iksha. A married couple with two children, a girl and a boy, was returning from the dacha. They were driving and did not violate anything, and a jeep crashed into them, which drove into the oncoming lane. The whole family died. The doctor tried to save the girl until the last minute, but she could no longer be helped. And then for the first time I saw how overnight everything can change in the life of any person. And we took the culprit of this situation, the one who drove into oncoming traffic and remained alive, to the hospital. This fragility of human life, the carelessness with which some treat it, shocked me. In total, I worked for the Ministry of Emergency Situations for more than 15 years and flew on Mi-8, Bo 105 and BK-117 helicopters.”
In the photo: Ekaterina Oreshnikova, PIC BK117S-2, Moscow Aviation Center
- Tell us about business trips and rescue operations
- I would like to note that our pilots and rescuers are respected all over the world. If major fires or any emergencies occurred abroad, Russian forces and resources were often involved. So in August 2007, we were hired to extinguish fires in Greece. Near ancient Olympia, local residents were cut off by a wall of fire and could have died at any moment. Our Be-200ChS and Il-76 amphibious aircraft, as well as Mi-26 and Mi-8 helicopters, worked to extinguish the fires. Due to the fire, which heated the air, hurricane winds created serious interference in the work of the pilots. The Be-200 aircraft dropped more than twelve tons of water at a time. And we, on the Mi-8 with a special spillway device with a volume of three tons, delivered water from reservoirs to the fire sites. Thanks to the efforts of Russian pilots, they managed to cope with the elements. We also participated in many international exercises and demonstrations both in our country (in Kaliningrad) and abroad - in Germany and Finland. It is very important to share our experience with colleagues, show our working methods, and demonstrate the features of saving people and providing first aid. Also in May 2012, I participated in a search operation at the crash site of a Sukhoi Superjet 100 plane in Indonesia, which crashed into Mount Salak during a demonstration flight. For many, this was one of the most difficult rescue operations; the working conditions were truly extreme. The slope of the rock was then more than 80 degrees. The wreckage of the plane ended up at an altitude of more than 2000 meters, in the impenetrable jungle.
- When did you start working at the Moscow Aviation Center?
In 2015, I went to work at the State Institution “Moscow Aviation Center” of the Civil Defense and Emergency Safety Department, as an aircraft commander. I am currently on duty on a BK117 C-2 helicopter. This is one of the most modern and best helicopters I know. It is compact and very reliable, it does not require much space to fit. It can even land on the roadway. My total flight time is more than 3500 hours. We deliver victims of car accidents and seriously ill patients to hospitals in the capital. Our medical helicopters respond to emergency calls when minutes count. On board the Moscow Aviation Center, seriously ill patients, for example, with myocardial infarction or internal bleeding, are transported to the hospital. Thanks to rotary-wing aircraft, it is possible to get to the place of call as quickly as possible. Our teams of doctors and rescuers fly to any point in the capital in 7-10 minutes, and to New Moscow in 15. In this regard, this is a new level of performing the work that I previously did on a Bo 105 helicopter over Moscow.
In the photo: Ekaterina Oreshnikova, PIC BK117S-2, Moscow Aviation Center
- Tell us about your family
My husband Valery, also a pilot, is sympathetic to my work. He is part of a dynasty of pilots. We met at work. It was a very funny story. We worked in the same squad, on the same car, but never saw each other, since we flew in different crews, on different shifts. My husband is tall, he customized the workplace for himself. And I moved the pedals closer. Every morning we were indignant at each other’s actions - we just adjusted the pedals to suit ourselves, and then someone went and changed everything! One day they show me the pilot and say: “Here he is, your replacement.” I looked at him with interest, and then Valera came up, and we met - that’s fate. Now we have a daughter, she is studying at the institute to become a teacher of Russian language and literature.
What would you like to wish on the eve of International Women's Day to all women and your colleagues?
First of all, I would like to wish all women happiness, health and love. Because it’s easy to flare up, and then go back, it’s impossible to rewind time. So that there is always mutual understanding, peace, harmony and patience in the family.
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“Moscow Aviation Center” Ekaterina Oreshnikova: “After watching the film “Night Witches in the Sky” I realized that I would be a pilot”
Ekaterina Oreshnikova, the only female pilot who first worked in the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, and now works as a PIC on the BK117 S-2 at the State Institution “Moscow Aviation Center” of the Civil Defense and Emergency Safety Department. She took part in many major search and rescue operations and, together with rescuers, saved hundreds of lives.
— For many people, the profession of a pilot or astronaut is a childhood dream. At what point did the sky “call” you? What was the reason?
There were no pilots in my family. However, my dad worked as an aviation engineer, and I received my first knowledge about aviation from him. In general, I was a humanities major at school. My mother was a teacher, she taught history. I did very well in humanities subjects. But somehow, closer to high school, the film “Night Witches in the Sky” was shown on TV. The film was directed by Evgenia Zhigulenko, flight commander of a night bomber aviation regiment, Hero of the Soviet Union. And when I watched this film, it really shocked me, and I realized that I also wanted to fly.
- How and where did your training take place?When I was in school, in high school, and the question of choosing a specialty arose, I decided to become a pilot. At that time, however, I did not know what schools and institutes there were, what type of plane or helicopter I would fly, and in general how to realize my dream. Previously, it was difficult for girls to break into aviation. But fate decreed that an athlete was recruited into the first Moscow city flying club to fly the Mi-2 helicopter. At the same time, I studied at the Moscow Aviation Institute, and then received a referral from the flying club to the Zaporozhye Aviation School of DOSAAF USSR Instructor Pilots. At that time in Soviet times, this was the only school where girls were accepted to study. Because in all flight schools it was written: males are accepted. The entrance competition was very large. That year, 5 of us entered from all over the USSR. And this was considered a large set, usually there were three people, but here there were five at once. Previously, there were completely different laws, and now it is much easier to do if one of the girls wants to fly. Now there are sets, if there is a desire.
- How difficult was it to train as a pilot in Soviet times?
In total, there were six squadrons at the Zaporozhye Aviation School of Instructor Pilots of the USSR DOSAAF. The cadets went through theory and learned to fly helicopters, airplanes and gliders. And for all six squadrons, for three courses there were 30 girls. In the squadron where I studied, there were five of us, including me. We had a very strong set. These were guys and girls who really wanted not just to work in aviation, but to fly. And they devoted a lot of time and effort to this. But, unfortunately, there was a time when, after graduation, no one needed us. You remember very well what time it was – 1991. But after some time, I was extremely lucky, because then I was hired by the airline - Moscow Air Lines at Sheremetyevo. Its General Director, Vladimir Ivanovich Kostyrin, retrained me to use the Mi-8 helicopter. And it was thanks to this that I was able to fly not just as an athlete at a flying club, or a cadet at a flight school, but as a professional pilot. I got the chance to continue my studies with experienced pilot instructors and gain flying experience. And then the Ministry of Emergency Situations aviation was formed. I transferred to the Ministry of Emergency Situations aviation and worked there for a very long time.
- Tell us about your experience as a pilot in the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations.
Each challenge is memorable in its own way. I especially remember one of the first flights to an accident, when I felt the transience of human life. It was a major car accident near Iksha. A married couple with two children, a girl and a boy, was returning from the dacha. They were driving and did not violate anything, and a jeep crashed into them, which drove into the oncoming lane. The whole family died. The doctor tried to save the girl until the last minute, but she could no longer be helped. And then for the first time I saw how overnight everything can change in the life of any person. And we took the culprit of this situation, the one who drove into oncoming traffic and remained alive, to the hospital. This fragility of human life, the carelessness with which some treat it, shocked me. In total, I worked for the Ministry of Emergency Situations for more than 15 years and flew on Mi-8, Bo 105 and BK-117 helicopters.”
- Tell us about business trips and rescue operations.
I would like to note that our pilots and rescuers are respected all over the world. If major fires or any emergencies occurred abroad, Russian forces and resources were often involved. So in August 2007, we were hired to extinguish fires in Greece. Near ancient Olympia, local residents were cut off by a wall of fire and could have died at any moment. Our Be-200ChS and Il-76 amphibious aircraft, as well as Mi-26 and Mi-8 helicopters, worked to extinguish the fires. Due to the fire, which heated the air, hurricane winds created serious interference in the work of the pilots. The Be-200 aircraft dropped more than twelve tons of water at a time. And we, on the Mi-8 with a special spillway device with a volume of three tons, delivered water from reservoirs to the fire sites. Thanks to the efforts of Russian pilots, they managed to cope with the elements. We also participated in many international exercises and demonstrations both in our country (in Kaliningrad) and abroad - in Germany and Finland. It is very important to share our experience with colleagues, show our working methods, and demonstrate the features of saving people and providing first aid. Also in May 2012, I participated in a search operation at the crash site of a Sukhoi Superjet 100 plane in Indonesia, which crashed into Mount Salak during a demonstration flight. For many, this was one of the most difficult rescue operations; the working conditions were truly extreme. The slope of the rock was then more than 80 degrees. The wreckage of the plane ended up at an altitude of more than 2000 meters, in the impenetrable jungle.
- When did you start working at the Moscow Aviation Center?
In 2015, I moved to work at the State Institution “Moscow Aviation Center” of the Civil Defense and Emergency Safety Department, as an aircraft commander. I am currently on duty on a BK117 C-2 helicopter. This is one of the most modern and best helicopters I know. It is compact and very reliable, it does not require much space to fit. It can even land on the roadway. My total flight time is more than 3500 hours. We deliver victims of car accidents and seriously ill patients to hospitals in the capital. Our medical helicopters respond to emergency calls when minutes count. On board the Moscow Aviation Center, seriously ill patients, for example, with myocardial infarction or internal bleeding, are transported to the hospital. Thanks to rotary-wing aircraft, it is possible to get to the place of call as quickly as possible. Our teams of doctors and rescuers fly to any point in the capital in 7-10 minutes, and to New Moscow in 15. In this regard, this is a new level of performing the work that I previously did on a Bo 105 helicopter over Moscow.
- Tell us about your family.
My husband Valery, also a pilot, is sympathetic to my work. He is part of a dynasty of pilots. We met at work. It was a very funny story. We worked in the same squad, on the same car, but never saw each other, since we flew in different crews, on different shifts. My husband is tall, he customized the workplace for himself. And I moved the pedals closer. Every morning we were indignant at each other’s actions - we just adjusted the pedals to suit ourselves, and then someone went and changed everything! One day they show me the pilot and say: “Here he is, your replacement.” I looked at him with interest, and then Valera came up, and we met - that’s fate. Now we have a daughter, she is studying at the institute to become a teacher of Russian language and literature.
What would you like to wish on the eve of International Women's Day to all women and your colleagues?
First of all, I would like to wish all women happiness, health and love. Because it’s easy to flare up, and then go back, it’s impossible to rewind time. So that there is always mutual understanding, peace, harmony and patience in the family.
Looking at Katya - so petite, feminine, with a calm, quiet voice and piercing blue eyes - it’s hard to believe that she is the one who lifts her “Boshka” into the sky every day - a small white and red helicopter with a proud inscription “Emergency Service” on board. Ekaterina Oreshnikova is the only female pilot working in the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations.
Today she is on duty at City Hospital No. 15 in Moscow, and her faithful Bo-105 helicopter stands nearby, ready to take off at the first request and cover the distance from south to north of Moscow in 10 minutes. The doctor on board will decide what to do next with the victims: either leave them in the care of an ambulance stuck somewhere in a traffic jam, or take them to a clinic or intensive care unit.
It's not easy to fly over Moscow
The landing area at the hospital is surrounded by signal lights - as required, although the helicopter does not fly at night. Nearby there is a control center with all the necessary equipment - aviation, after all. On the wall there are maps of approaches to other clinics: this is a closed area, and you have to enter from the other side...
True, Katya no longer looks at these diagrams before the flight - after 8 years of work, she learned them by heart. But in general, according to her, it is extremely difficult to fly over Moscow. Not only are there a lot of tall buildings and prohibited areas (special objects, city center, etc.), it turns out that the main threat to aviators is the wires that simply entangled our city. They go not only from building to building, but sometimes they stretch from one side of the street to the other. And, descending from a flight height of 150 meters, you have to keep your eyes open, so they fly in twos.
Baptism of fire
After graduating from the Moscow Aviation Institute, and after it the Zaporozhye Aviation School of Pilots, Katya began looking for a job. It was a difficult time - 1991 - the beginning of perestroika, something incomprehensible was happening both in the army and in aviation, there was nowhere to go. No experience, no flight hours... It was just lucky that the general director of Moscow Airways at Sheremetyevo, Vladimir Kastyrin, then believed in Katya and hired her.
The opportunity to fly appeared, long business trips began. And if Turkmenistan was remembered only for the heat, then the six-month business trip to the taiga was a real baptism of fire. During a search flight, they found a woman who had been wandering in the forest for twenty days. She guessed to go out to the stream and lie down on a large flat stone - this turned out to be her salvation, she was noticed. But Katya still remembers what she looked like then...
What's important
Katya remembers almost all those rescued: the boy who was dragged by the train, and the one who hit an embankment and was in a coma... But most often the victims are victims of road accidents, so Katya simply hates drunk drivers who don’t even realize that caused such troubles.
As a rule, more accidents happen on weekends. But it happens that there are no calls at all - then the day is considered successful. Perhaps this is that rare profession when the boss, filling out the task for the day, wants fewer flying hours.
There are no next...
- Lately there has been a lot of talk about poor training of pilots - is there such a problem in small aviation?
- Unfortunately, the excellent system of training small aviation pilots that was created in the USSR has been destroyed. All the schools that trained helicopter pilots - both Kremenchug and ours - remained in Ukraine, and no longer train anyone. We employ highly qualified, experienced pilots, but, unfortunately, now there is simply no one to pass on their skills to them. I'm not talking about those commercial schools where you can learn to fly a helicopter in a few lessons, but about system training.
- The difference is about the same as between a computer user and a programmer...
How do you feel about proposals to create a helicopter taxi service?
- I'm only afraid of how it will all be organized. And so - why not?
Sky, pilot, child, mother and helicopter
Yes, many people can envy such preparation as Katya’s. While still studying at the institute, she came to the 1st Moscow City Aero Club at DOSAAF, where again she met a good person - instructor Alexander Smykov, whose instructions Katya still remembers.
- But the first inspirer was probably your father, an aviation engineer by profession? In general, tell us about your childhood - were you a tomboy, a leader?
- Not in any way. I was a completely quiet and obedient child - you can ask my mother. By the way, I am especially grateful to her that she did not interfere with my choice of profession. It is only now, when I have my own daughter, that I understand how difficult it was for my mother then.
- When did you have a dream to rise into the sky?
- You see, it was a problematic time back then; I would hardly have been able to work in my specialty (systems engineer for flight test dynamics). Even when there was a long break in flying after the disbandment of the detachment in Sheremetyevo, I graduated from the correspondence department of the Law Academy, so I also have a second education. Really, I can’t imagine why I need it. The fact is that I still can’t imagine myself without the sky. I am so happy that I have the opportunity to fly!
When the opportunity arose to join the EMERCOM squad, Katya’s daughter was only seven months old. But then my family not only supported me, but also provided me with the opportunity to work: everyone took turns sitting with the child, including my husband, who works as a pilot in the same detachment.
How do you manage to combine both career and home? Rarely does this succeed.
- You know, two people coexist in me: a pilot in love with the sky and an obsessed mother. It is a mother, not a housewife. If I fly a lot, I start to miss my daughter; if I sit at home for a long time, then I miss the sky.
-And yet, a pilot is a male profession, because in the sky you have to act quickly and decisively. Has this left an imprint on you, are you in charge at home?
- Not really. I’m saying that two people coexist in me.
Is pilot a profession not for women?
- Is a female pilot different from a male pilot in the sky?
- Certainly! These are completely two different worlds.
- Is it scary?
- But of course! But fear can be overcome in different ways: the main thing is not to panic, but to calmly make the right decisions.
-So, maybe it’s justified that the rules for admission to flight schools say “we accept only men”?
- This is not true. In this profession, a woman can work no worse, and sometimes much better, than men. And it is impossible to prohibit admission to school only on the basis of gender. The main selection criteria are knowledge, health and desire to fly, not gender.
- Don’t you envy that time, the middle of the last century, when we had a whole galaxy of outstanding female aviators, heroes of the Soviet Union?
- No. You don't choose times. And thank God that we live now and we are past the troubles that befell them. By the way, I had a chance to meet one of them - Valentina Grizodubova. My friend and I were entering college at the time and decided to turn to her for help. They just found her address in the address book and came. I wouldn't do that now. And then... And what’s interesting is that she didn’t kick us out, she talked for quite a long time. It’s a pity that we didn’t record the conversation, because you rarely meet such extraordinary people. She didn’t really help us then, but she gave us a lot of moral support.
We are appreciated abroad
- Nowadays, women are piloting Boeings abroad too - Would you like to?
- No! I love my “boska” so much! Sometimes I fly on the Mi-8. These are completely different machines: while we only have two victims that can be transported, the Mi-8 lifts more than 3 tons of cargo. But the “boshka” is more mobile: it can land on any highway, even in the courtyard of a house. True, additional difficulties arise here - curious passers-by. It’s good if the police are already on the spot and will disperse the onlookers, but otherwise they even try to climb onto the roof to take pictures.
Our information:
The light-class rescue helicopter Bo-105 of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations is equipped with German medical equipment and is designed to evacuate two victims from the scene of an emergency. The Bo-105 is capable of landing on an area measuring 20x20 meters, as well as hovering in the air, which makes it indispensable for evacuating victims from the scene of an accident in an urban environment.
- Do you take part in foreign trips to exchange experiences or compete?
- Last year in Germany in Schönefeld we took part in the international aerospace exhibition ILA, two years ago - in exercises in the Kaliningrad region, then Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov gave us personalized watches.
I really liked how our amphibious aircraft, during its performance over the field, made a demonstration drop of water in three colors of the Russian tricolor - it looked very impressive. In general, our pilots are respected everywhere. In America we met astronaut Stafford, and he even adopted two Russian boys.
We talk with Ekaterina for an hour and a half. During all this time - no emergencies! Looks like today is a lucky day. Let there be more of them in such an unusual profession in which Katya Oreshnikova is the only one.
Olga Matveeva
MOSCOW, April 3- RIA Novosti. Moscow’s first and perhaps only Russian female air ambulance pilot, Ekaterina Oreshnikova, works at the Moscow Aviation Center, whose crews take to the air every day to deliver doctors to remote areas of the capital and save someone’s life. A RIA Novosti correspondent visited the IAC and talked with the rescue pilot about her profession.
If not for "Night Witches"
While we are preparing for the interview, Ekaterina Oreshnikova’s colleagues warn that her crew is now on duty and if a call comes in, we will immediately fold. They advise you to take this seriously, because every second will count, and Ekaterina is stricter than many men at the IAC.
Its crew is second in line, while three ambulance helicopters are on duty in Moscow at the same time.
Actually, she was supposed to become a history teacher. At school, the humanitarian subjects were easiest for her - and the issue was almost resolved.
“My parents approved of my choice. Although my dad, an aviation engineer, prepared helicopters for flights, he very rarely took me to the airfield - only in very early childhood. Probably because he knew how hard it was for girls on helicopters. He didn’t give me such difficulties wanted. And he did everything to protect me from this,” she says.
But one day Catherine watched the film “Night Witches in the Sky.”
“This is about women pilots who flew U-2 planes during the war. They overcame their fear and accomplished something impossible, it amazed me,” she continues. From then on, Ekaterina knew that she would definitely end up in the sky, but she immediately decided for herself: only in civil aviation.
From DOSAAF flying club to air ambulance
However, achieving the plan was not so easy. For girls, the sky then, just before the collapse of the USSR, was practically closed: only those who had already flown their first hours in flying clubs were accepted into specialized schools. Moreover, this did not guarantee anything - the selection was extremely severe.
“At that time, girls could only fly in flying clubs, as athletes,” explains Ekaterina. “The best were given a referral from the flying club to the Zaporozhye DOSAAF flight school, the only one that officially accepted girls for training as professional pilots. We studied on an Mi-2 helicopter.” . Upon admission, she recalls, girls, unlike young men, had to take piloting techniques.
After receiving her diploma, Oreshnikova retrained on the Mi-8. She flew on passenger lines. “But when the Ministry of Emergency Situations aviation was formed, I realized that I belonged there,” says the pilot.
Ekaterina worked at the Ministry of Emergency Situations from 1999 to 2015, flying to emergency situations in different regions of Russia and abroad. Then she moved to the air ambulance of the Moscow Aviation Center (MAC), which belongs to the capital’s department for civil defense, emergency situations and fire safety. Now she has more than 3.5 thousand flight hours. Ekaterina operates the medical version of the VK117S 2 helicopter (Eurocopter).
© Photo: from the personal archive of Ekaterina Oreshnikova
© Photo: from the personal archive of Ekaterina Oreshnikova
Thousands of sorties and not a single loss
During the existence of the IAC, aeromedical teams of ambulance helicopters provided assistance to more than five thousand patients and did not lose a single person in the air.
“We have the most streamlined system for mission departures and medical assistance,” explains Oreshnikova. “The vehicles are prepared by experienced engineering and technical staff. We have excellent doctors flying with us. They care for the patient both on the ground and inside the helicopter.”
At this moment the challenge comes. The first helicopter takes off. They explain to us that a patient with coronary heart failure needed urgent care in the Troitsky and Novosibirsk Autonomous Okrug. They often fly there, to New Moscow. After the annexation of new territories to the capital, air ambulance crews have special responsibility for the district where there are no hospitals accepting heart patients. Helicopters are also often called to accidents, especially if children are injured.
Catherine’s mood changes a little, some tension is noticeable, because the next challenge is hers. During the previous duty, she says, they flew out twice, but both times it turned out on the spot that the patient’s condition had improved and urgent hospitalization was not required. "It was a good day. It only gets better if there are no flights at all. Then we say: today everyone is alive and well!" - says Ekaterina.
“The hardest thing is that you arrive, but you can’t help,” the pilot admits. “And the children, of course. You constantly have to witness how a person’s life suddenly changes dramatically.”
Sometimes it can be scary. “I don’t know a single person flying or just walking on the ground who hasn’t been scared at least once in their life. This is a normal human feeling. Another question is how a person deals with fear and what decisions he makes,” says Oreshnikova.
“Every flight is a certain risk,” she continues. “Moscow is a multimillion-dollar metropolis, there are a lot of wires, narrow streets, onlookers. People often try to get closer to the helicopter with mobile phones. This is dangerous.”
The job is not for random people
Why don't girls become professional pilots? Ekaterina suggests that this is due to the difficulties that the country experienced in the 1990s.
“After I graduated, there was a very big break in general with enrollment in flight schools; there were problems on a national scale. There are a lot of female athletes, but to get to the level of a professional pilot, you need to overcome a very difficult path,” she says.
Therefore, in air ambulance, as in aviation in general, there are no random people. “There remain those who devote their whole lives to this business,” the pilot is sure.
Her daughter did not follow in her mother’s footsteps, although Catherine would not have objected to this.
“She is a humanitarian, she will be a teacher of Russian language and literature. If she became a pilot, I would also be very happy. But the main thing is that she likes what she does, so that she finds her place in life. I will support any worthy decision,” emphasizes Ekaterina.
And then we are interrupted. Call: there is an accident on the Podolskoe highway. According to preliminary information, a child was injured, so preparations begin, and a few minutes later a helicopter under the command of Oreshnikova is already in the air. On board the vehicle are two artificial lung ventilation devices, two infusion pumps for precise dosing of drugs, a defibrillator that can be used even on the fly, oxygen cylinders and much more. In half an hour, the ambulance helicopter will reach any, even the most inaccessible point in Moscow.
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