.jpg) ASukhoi Su-27UB performing at an air show | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 27 July 2002 (2002-07-27) |
| Summary | Pilot error duringaerobatic maneuver |
| Site |
|
| Total fatalities | 77 (on ground) |
| Total injuries | 545 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Sukhoi Su-27UB |
| Operator |  Ukrainian Air ForceUkrainian Falcons |
| Occupants | 2 |
| Crew | 2 |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 2 |
| Survivors | 2 |
| Ground casualties | |
| Ground fatalities | 77 |
| Ground injuries | 543 |
TheSknyliv air show disaster occurred on 27 July 2002, when aUkrainian Air ForceSukhoi Su-27UB aircraft,piloted by Volodymyr Toponar (of theUkrainian Falcons) andco-piloted by Yuriy Yegorov, crashed into spectators during anaerobatics presentation atSknyliv airfield nearLviv, Ukraine. The accident killed 77 people and injured 543. It isthe deadliest air show accident in history.[citation needed]
More than 10,000 spectators attended theair show, staged to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Ukrainian Air Force's14th Air Corps.[1] The Su-27 aircraft was flown by two experienced pilots; it entered arolling maneuver at 12:52 p.m. with a downward trajectory at low altitude. It rolled upright once more and was still descending rapidly when the left wing dropped shortly before it hit the ground, at which point the crew initiatedejection. The aircraft flattened out initially, before skidding over the ground towards stationary aircraft and striking a glancing blow against the nose of anIlyushin Il-76, at which point the jet exploded and cartwheeled into the crowd of spectators.[citation needed]
Both pilots survived with minor injuries, while 77 spectators were killed, including 28 children.[2] Another 100 were hospitalized for head injuries, burns, and bone fractures.[1][3] Other injuries were less severe and did not require hospitalization. A total of 543 people were injured in the accident.[4] Some bystanders suffered serious mental trauma from what they saw.[5]
Following the disaster, the pilots stated that the flight map which they had received differed from the actual layout. On thecockpit voice recorder, one pilot asks, "And where are our spectators?".[6] Others have suggested that the pilots were slow to react to automated warnings issued by theflight computer.[6]
On 7 August, an investigation conducted byYevhen Marchuk, theNational Security and Defense Secretary, concluded with the pilots receiving a majority of the blame. In a statement, Marchuk accused Toponar and Yegorov of failing "to respect the flight plan and aerial maneuvers". Marchuk also attributed some blame toward the event organizers and scrutinized them for allowing dangerous stunts to be performed in close proximity to spectators.[7] Toponar rejected Marchuk's findings and claimed that technical issues and a faulty flight plan was what led to the crash.[8] Prior to the incident, he had requested an additional training flight at the airfield where the display was to be performed, but the request was denied.[9]
Ukrainian PresidentLeonid Kuchma publicly blamed the military for the disaster and dismissed the head of the air force, General Viktor Strelnykov.[10]Minister of DefenseVolodymyr Shkidchenko offered his resignation, but Kuchma rejected it.[11]
On 24 June 2005, amilitary court sentenced pilot Volodymyr Toponar and co-pilot Yuriy Yegorov to fourteen and eight years in prison, respectively. The court found the two pilots and three other military officials guilty of failing to follow orders,negligence, and violating flight rules. Two of the three officials were sentenced to up to six years in prison; the third received up to four years. Toponar was ordered to pay₴7,200,000 (equivalent to aboutUS$1,405,000 at the time andUS$2,262,000 currently)[12] in compensation to the families, and Yegorov₴2,500,000 (equivalent to aboutUS$488,000 at the time andUS$785,000 currently).[12] The crew's main flight trainer wasacquitted for lack of evidence.[13][14]
After the verdict was announced, Toponar said that he planned toappeal, insisting that the crash was due totechnical problems and a faulty flight plan. Yegorov was released in 2008 after PresidentViktor Yushchenko issued a decree reducing his sentence to three and a half years.[15]
Near the end of his prison term, Toponar reasserted his innocence in a phone interview. "From the mission briefing it is obvious that the flight area parameters we were given significantly exceeded the safe margin of separation from spectators. What happened is the fault of organizers. Planes must not fly over spectators. During the show, I had to make several advanced maneuvers in a few minutes. During the half-barrel, I noticed decreased thrust of both engines and the airspeed fell. But the cause remains unknown! Ground control ordered us to continue the flight. During the lastmaneuver—an oblique loop with aturn—the plane became uncontrollable. During the trial they said it was caused bypilot error due to inexperience. I have 27 years in the cockpit with 2,000 hoursflying time. I was a member of the Ukrainian Falcons […] To the last I struggled to lift the plane, [but] copilot Yuriy Yegorov hit the catapult [triggering ejection] and we two ejected with our seats."[16][17]
Debris from the exploding SU-27 sprayed across the field for a distance of about 100 meters. As of yesterday, 83 people (19 of them children) were dead, and more than 100 were taken to the hospital with head injuries, burns and fractures.
While performing an aerobatic maneuver, an SU-27 jet crashed into a crowd of spectators, leaving 77 people dead and another 543 injured. The commander of the plane's crew, Vladimir Toponar, was sentenced Friday to 14 years in prison, and copilot Yury Yegorov got eight years
