On 27 July 2002, 84 people were killed and over 100 injured at an airshow in Sknyliv (Скнилів) airport near Lviv, Ukraine. A Ukrainian Air Force Sukhoi Su-27 aircraft crashed during an aerobatics presentation. It is the world's worst airshow disaster to date. [1] July 27 is the 208th day (209th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 157 days remaining. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... The UK Utterly Butterly wing-walking display team flying Boeing Stearman PT-17 biplanes An airshow is an event at which aviators display their flying skills and the capabilities of their flying machines to the crowd. ... Motto: Semper fidelis Location Map of Ukraine with Lviv. ... Obsolete 1990s sign of the Ukrainian Air Force The Ukrainian Air force (Ukrainian: , Povitryani Syly Ukrayiny) is a part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. ... The Sukhoi Su-27 (Су-27 in the Cyrillic alphabet) (NATO reporting name Flanker) is originally a Soviet fighter aircraft designed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau (SDB). ... The Frecce Tricolori aerobatic team of the Italian Air Force, flying at the Royal International Air Tattoo, Fairford, England, in 2005 The UK Utterly Butterly display team perform an aerobatic maneuvre with their Boeing Stearmans Red Arrows Hawks in Concorde formation Aerobatics is the demonstration of flying maneuvers for recreation...

The aircraft, flown by two experienced pilots, entered a rolling manouevre with a downward trajectory at low altitude; having rolled upright once more the aircraft was still descending rapidly and the left wing dropped shortly before the aircraft hit the ground, at which point the crew initiated ejection. The aircraft flattened out initially, skidding over the ground towards stationary aircraft, striking a glancing blow against the nose of an Il-76 transport aircraft before beginning to explode and cartwheel into the crowd of spectators. Both pilots survived with minor injuries from the ejection and landed just feet away from the transport aircraft. US Air Force F/A-22 Raptor ejection seat test using a mannequin. ... Ilyushin Il-76T An Indian Air Force IL-76 in Hawaii, with IAF and US personnel. ...

Initial reports of the cause of the crash varied, including impact with birds and engine failure. The Flanker's engines can be heard suddenly going silent immediately before the sudden dive towards the ground, but are audible again just before the impact with the tarmac. [2] Pilot Volodymyr Toponar insists the crash was due to mechanical failure. [3]

Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma publicly blamed the military for the disaster and dismissed the head of the air force, Volodymyr Strel'nykov. The defense minister Volodymyr Shkidchenko sent in his resignation, but it was rejected by Kuchma. Leonid Kuchma Leonid Danylovych Kuchma (Ukrainian: Леонід Данилович Кучма; born August 9, 1938) was the second President of Ukraine from July 19, 1994, to January 23, 2005. ...

Experts have proposed the following as possible causes of the crash and subsequent loss of life: Look up expert in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

• pilot error
• engine failure
• violation of flight safety rules by crew or ground co-ordinator
• improper flight plan: particularly, mistaken correlation between the display and spectators' zones
• overfueling the plane, causing the Su-27 to become heavier and less agile than the pilots were used to when performing displays

On June 24, 2005, a military court sentenced 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, and the last official received up to four years. In addition, Toponar was ordered to pay 7.2 million hryvnia ($1.42 million; €1.18 million) in compensation to the families, and Yegorov another 2.5 million hryvnia. After the verdict was announced, Toponar said he planned to appeal. June 24 is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 190 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The hryvnia (Ukrainian гривня) has been the national currency of Ukraine since 1996 when it replaced the coupon (or karbovanets), the temporary currency used after Ukraine left the Soviet Union and the ruble zone. ...

While the pilots were assigned the majority of the blame, which included accusations of attempting manouevres that they were not experienced with, one pilot had requested additional training at the airfield where the display was to be performed; this request was denied. [4]

A Russian Sukhoi Su-30 prototype fighter jet (a thrust vectoring derivative of the Su-27) had previously crashed under surprisingly similar conditions during the Paris Airshow. That accident happened due to flight plan error, but did not result in any fatalities, due in no small part to the far tighter safety rules at European airshows which placed the display much further away from the crowd. Sukhoi (pronounced [suk-oi]) (Сухой) is a major Russian military fighter aircraft manufacturer. ... Sukhoi-30 (Nato: Flanker-C) The Sukhoi Su-30 is a military aircraft that was produced by the Russian company Sukhoi in 1996. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Paris Air Show (Salon International de lAéronautique et de lEspace, Paris-Le Bourget) is an international trade fair for the aerospace business. ...

Although the pilots have been convicted and imprisoned, since Toponar is still in the process of appealing his conviction, it still remains to be conclusively seen whether the pilots could have avoided the accident given the combined possibilities of engine failure, orders to fly without sufficient training, and a flawed flight plan.

See also

• Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 accident
• Brovary
• Ukrainian Falcons aerobatics team
• Military of Ukraine

Siberia Airlines (Russian: Aviakompaniya Sibir) Flight 1812 crashed over the Black Sea on 4 October 2001 en route from Tel Aviv (Israel) to Novosibirsk (Russia). ... Brovary (Ukrainian Бровари) is a city in Ukraines Kyivska oblast, close to the capital city of Kyiv. ... The Ukrainian Falcons (Ukrainian: Українські Соколи, Ukrayinski Sokoly) is the aerobatic demonstration team of the Ukrainian Air Force. ... Organization Ukraines military consists of Armed Forces of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Збройні сили України, ЗСУ, Zbroyni Syly Ukrainy) and few other independent militarized insititutions. ...

External links

• Google video footage of the accident
• Youtube video footage of the accident
• Recording from three cameras (AVI) - WARNING: THIS VIDEO CONTAINS VERY GRAPHIC FOOTAGE.

References

• (Russian) Prosecution's Aerobatics After the Sknyliv Tragedy (2006 journalist investigation of the accident, includes photos of the crash moment)
• (Ukrainian) 2004 Article in Ukrainian Dzerkalo Tyznhya weekly.htmlCrash Footage]
• Sydney Morning Herald article
• CNN article