Disabled Nikolai Rudenko’s electric wheelchair broke twice on Ural Airlines flights. The incident took place in June but attracted attention broadcasting E1.ru portal.
As Nikolai Rudenko himself told the publication, he put the stroller in his trunk during the flight from Moscow to Sochi and back. After the first flight, the cables in the stroller were damaged, and on the way back the metal frame bent. Nikolai couldn’t even bring up the subject.
According to E1.ru, Nikolai Rudenko is 39 years old, 20 of which he spent in a wheelchair. Nikolai suffers from a genetic disease due to decreased muscle tone – spinal muscular atrophy. Nikolai now works for a large Russian company, is involved in Paralympic bocce (a team ball game) and enjoys traveling. On all previous trips the stroller returned from flights safely.
“This time we asked the airline staff to put it aside and not load anything on it. “Do not remove the battery and put it back in without us, because there are certain details,” says Nikolay. — When my wife and I arrived in Sochi, we found that the battery was installed incorrectly. Because of this, the cables in the stroller were damaged. The engine was knocking and the right wheel was damaged.”
Nikolai wrote a statement about the damage to the trunk. At that time, strollers could still be repaired. Finally, Nikolai says he is broken on the way home.
“I was taken from the plane to my wheelchair using a special chair. Everything inside was torn, torn, it was impossible to sit on it because everything was shaking, the frame was bent. I told them they deprived me of my legs. “It looks like he’s been loaded with too much luggage,” the passenger said.
Nikolay has already made a request to the airline; He requests payment for the purchase of a new electric wheelchair, initially provided to him by the Social Insurance Fund. And according to the schedule, the new one will be released only in five years. Now Nikolai can’t even leave the house.
“Due to my illness, I cannot use a normal stroller: my arms are too weak and I cannot turn the wheels,” says Nikolai. “I told them I would go to court. But actually I can’t even go to court because I don’t have a stroller.”
Airline met halfway
The E1.RU article reports that editors contacted the airline’s press service. Thereupon, Ural Airlines promised to pay compensation to the passenger.
“We are in contact with it, discussing the compensation procedure and the amount of payment,” a representative of the carrier told reporters.
Apparently, the airline approached the incident more carefully after the media coverage. According to the website of the Ren-TV channel, representatives of Ural Airlines contacted and asked to send additional documents.
“Such strollers are no longer produced and we were offered an analogue. We sent them an invoice and are waiting for a response. It seems that they started to act, but the situation is so unpleasant that there is such an attitude. “There is a fact that the stroller is broken and they are trying to delay this issue in any way possible,” he said. aforementioned Rudenko to the Ren-TV correspondent.
The incident was brought to the attention of law enforcement.
“According to information published on the E1 information portal, the Sverdlovsk Transport Prosecutor’s Office has organized supervisory measures, based on the results of which an assessment will be made of the airline’s activities in organizing and transporting to ensure the airline’s compliance with consumer protection legislation. persons with reduced mobility and passenger luggage,” – reported On the Telegram channel of the Ural Transport Prosecutor’s Office.
Two miracles of Ural Airlines
Let’s add that Ural Airlines experienced two significant incidents that miraculously did not cause many casualties.
One of them dead recently – September 12, 2023. An Airbus-A320 of Ural Airlines urgently touched down in a field in the Ubinsky district of the Novosibirsk region. There were 161 people on the ship, including 23 children. No harm was done. The plane was flying to Omsk but the crew decided to land the plane at Novosibirsk airport due to a malfunction in the hydraulic system but could not reach it due to lack of fuel. The incident is currently under investigation.
15 August 2019 Airbus A321-211 of the same Ural Airlines crash landing Four kilometers from Zhukovsky airport in the Moscow region after a collision with a flock of birds. All 233 people on board (226 passengers and 7 crew) survived, 74 with injuries of varying severity. On the second day of the accident, the pilots were awarded the title of Hero of Russia and the flight attendants were awarded the Order of Courage. However, the final report of the IAC reported on the unstable psycho-emotional state of the pilots, a number of errors, clear signs of disorganization and inconsistency in actions.