“No good”: versions of Neradko’s resignation from the post of head of the Federal Air Transport Agency have been named

Problems have been building for years

On Friday, September 15, it became known about the change of the head of the Federal Air Transport Agency. Instead of Alexander Neradko, who was relieved of his post at his request, 35-year-old Dmitry Yadrov was appointed. MK asked leading aviation industry specialists what they thought about personnel decisions. They shared their opinions on condition of anonymity.

The new head of the department is a graduate of the St. Petersburg State University of Civil Aviation. He headed the state corporation for air traffic management – EU ATM. Since 2019 he has been working at the Federal Air Transport Agency. Appointed to the new position from the post of deputy head of the department.

Evaluating Alexander Neradko, who has headed the department since 2009, many MK interlocutors noted his professionalism. As one of them put it, “Neradko certainly cannot be called a random person in the industry.”

At the same time, many recalled that in recent years there have been several corruption scandals in civil aviation. Representatives of the Prosecutor General’s Office worked in the industry almost continuously.

Some experts associate the personnel reshuffle with the position of the Federal Air Transport Agency regarding the principles of the formation of a new sub-sector of civil aviation – unmanned. For example, it is known that the department was against exempting drones from mandatory certification according to airworthiness standards.

“Probably Neradko opposed this, which is understandable,” said one of MK’s interlocutors. – He is a knowledgeable person. Well, as they say, if only there was a person, there would be a reason. When professionals leave, it’s always a loss.”

At the same time, as a specialist in the field of flight safety said, there could be claims against the department in this regard. For example, in 2021, Russia set an anti-record for the number of deaths in plane crashes, surpassing even African countries in this tragic indicator, where flight safety is an eternal problem.

A number of experts blame Alexander Neradko for mistakes in personnel policy. People without aviation education were appointed to some positions; on the other hand, very important positions remained vacant for a long time.

“Look,” complains one of the aviation specialists, “for several years they have not appointed a deputy head of the Federal Air Transport Agency for technology, as well as a deputy for flight service. And these are the key figures in the industry. Only recently they hired a person for the position of deputy for technology. There is still no deputy for flight training. This is no good.”

In addition, the expert noted, in recent years Rosaviation has lost very important regulatory functions, which were transferred to Rostransnadzor. Including the certification of aircraft and airports, the inspection of airlines, and the investigation of flight accidents.

“Russia, by the way, remains the only country among the aviation powers that does not have a single authorized body in the field of flight safety,” noted MK’s interlocutor, “And the presence of such a body is mandatory. This is required by ICAO – the International Civil Aviation Organization. In short, problems in the aviation industry accumulated and were resolved slowly. Probably all this led to a change in leadership. I would like to hope that this has been done for the benefit of aviation.”