Shift Foreman Alexander Akimov, who would be responsible for supervising the test under the direction of Deputy Chief Engineer Dyatlov. In the strict technical hierarchy of the power plant, Akimov, an experienced reactor control engineer, was the senior member of the operational staff in the room. Dyatlov’s role was administrative: no matter how deep his nuclear expertise, he could no more take the controls of the reactor engineer’s desk than an airline executive could step onto the flight deck of one of his passenger jets and fly the plane himself.
