Maxim just wanted to be a pilot

Dubai: On long flights when most of his passengers fell asleep Maxim Aydrus would pick up his textbook and start studying.

But this 28-year-old cabin crew member wasn’t studying just anything in the middle of the night — his sights were set on being a pilot.

“He always wanted to be a pilot,” Kamilla Mulagulova, his sister’s best friend of 18 years, said. “The only thing that was stopping him from being a pilot was that it was very expensive.”

“He was trying to collect money to be a pilot.”

The way Aydrus saw it, everyone had to start somewhere. So while travellers were occupied by sleep, he was occupied by the intricate details of how to fly the plane, and about the plane itself.

Being the middle child of his family, Maxim’s was always known as being the kind and generous one, no matter the situation.

“He and his sister were so close,” Mulagulova said. “He was also the mom’s favourite, she loved him so much.”

Born to Russian and Yemini parents, Aydrus spent his whole life in Dubai. He saw himself as part of a growing city and dreamed of being one of the other views people see in the sky. So in pursuit of his passion, Aydrus found a job with flydubai. Aydrus used this job as the backdrop to his future plans of being a pilot. And it wasn’t a secret that he had a special talent.

“He knew everything about the plane,” Mulagulova continued. “He was very good at it. Everyone knew it.”

No one ever disputed Aydrus when it came to being in the air. To all his friends and family, Aydrus belonged on a plane.

“He loved his job because he always wanted to be a pilot,” Mulagulova said. “There’s nothing else I can say. He was amazing.”