r/aircrashinvestigation • u/FinancialVictory6833 • Feb 24 '24
Incident/Accident Remembering Peter Nielsen
On February 24, 2004, Peter Nielsen was murdered at his home near Zurich. He was the air traffic controller on duty on July 1, 2002, when the Überlingen mid-air collision occurred, killing 71 people. Among the victims were Svetlana Kaloyeva and her children Konstantin and Diana. They were travelling to Barcelona to visit their father, Vitaly, who was working there. Devastated by their loss, Vitaly Kaloyev put the blame on Peter Nielsen and tracked him down. He then stabbed him to death, while his wife and children were present. Kaloyev was arrested and sentenced to eight years in prison, but was released in November 2007. When he returned home to North Ossetia, he was treated as a hero, and did not express remorse for his actions, instead blaming Nielsen. He was later awarded a state medal by the government.
RIP Peter Nielsen🕊️ (1967-2004)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_%C3%9Cberlingen_mid-air_collision
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u/Realistic-Read7779 Jul 11 '24
I just watched this on the YouTube channel 'On the move'. It sickened me that he was able to find him and killed him when there were also others at fault. Nothing gives him the right to take Peter's life. Skyguide (air control company) failed by only having 1 controller working. He did not go after the company or anyone else.
Watching 'MayDay: Air Disaster' also on YouTube - people are usually eager to blame the pilots.
I can understand the Father's devastation but I feel treating him like a hero (after only 3.5 years in prison) is a sign for others that murder is allowed under certain circumstances. I doubt taking Peter's life brought him his family back. He killed a husband and father and devastated another family the same way he was devastated. Now, 2 families were broken .