9 November 2021 marked the 80th anniversary from the day of death of the crew of PS-40 transporting special cargo to the aviation plant in Kazan. A crew consisting of a pilot Sergey Muraviov and a flight mechanic Konstantin Pryanichnikov operated the aircraft.
Weather conditions were very bad but the crew decided to fly because the front urgently needed planes. During the flight, when it was dark Kazan did not accept the aircraft because of a blizzard and non-visibility. The plane was turned back. In the strongest blizzard, without special equipment on board, the orientation of the aircraft was lost. The pilot decided to descend in order to define visually the location of the machine but something horrible happened: the plane came out of snow clouds, and the ground was right in front of it! The crew fought for the machine until the very end but the aircraft crashed near the village of Kuznechiha on 9 November 1941. The pilot Sergey Muraviov and the flight mechanic Konstantin Pryanichnikov died. They were buried in the cemetery of Kuznechiha.
In recent years, 9 November is marked as Remembrance Day of the crew of PS-40. In 2012, a new monument was constructed on the grave of the pilots, and the memorial was erected to remember their feat.
On 9 November 2021, staff members of the branch “Suvar” of Bolgar Museum-Reserve Sadrieva N. M., Pugachyova V. A. and Pugachyov E. V. paid tribute to the memory of pilots visiting their grave and laying flowers. In the comprehensive school of Kuznechiha, a lesson on courage was held using the materials from the funds of the museum “Suvar”.
A searcher from Tatarstan Prokofiev I. G. with the help of a highly experienced searcher N. Yu. Dzyuba from Kerch found in 2013 the relatives of the pilot Sergey Muraviov. The President of RT awarded the searchers for their work. They gave to the museum “Suvar” documents and photos telling about S. Muraviov. The relatives of a flight mechanic Konstantin Pryanichnikov have not yet been found. He had a wife Vera, a son Georgy and a daughter Zhanna. Maybe, we will find his family continuing the work in seeking them.

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