Sknyliv air show disaster

Last updated

Sknyliv air show disaster
SU27 - RIAT 2011 (8584951905).jpg
A Sukhoi Su-27UB performing at an air show
Accident
Date27 July 2002 (2002-07-27)
Summary Pilot error
Site Sknyliv Airfield
near Lviv, Ukraine
Total fatalities77 (on ground)
Total injuries545
Aircraft
Aircraft type Sukhoi Su-27UB
Operator Ukrainian Air Force
(Ukrainian Falcons)
Occupants2
Passengers0
Crew2 – Volodymyr Toponar and co-pilot Yuriy Yegorov (ejected to safety)
Fatalities0
Injuries2
Survivors2
Ground casualties
Ground fatalities77
Ground injuries543
The damaged IL-76MD (UR-76717) Lviv Airlines Ilyushin Il-76MD Shevelev-1.jpg
The damaged IL-76MD (UR-76717)

The Sknyliv air show disaster occurred on Saturday, 27 July 2002, when a Ukrainian Air Force Sukhoi Su-27UB piloted by Volodymyr Toponar (of the Ukrainian Falcons) and co-piloted by Yuriy Yegorov crashed during an aerobatics presentation at Sknyliv airfield near Lviv, Ukraine. The accident killed 77 people and injured 543, 100 of whom were hospitalized. It is the deadliest air show accident in history.

Contents

Crash

More than 10,000 spectators attended the air show, staged to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Ukrainian Air Force's 14th Air Corps. [1] [2] The Su-27 aircraft was flown by two experienced pilots; it entered a rolling 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 initiated ejection. The aircraft flattened out initially, skidding over the ground towards stationary aircraft and striking a glancing blow against the nose of an Ilyushin Il-76 transport aircraft, before beginning to explode and cartwheel into the crowd of spectators.[ citation needed ]

Both pilots survived with minor injuries, while 77 spectators were killed, including 28 children. [3] Another 100 were hospitalized for head injuries, burns, and bone fractures. [1] [4] Other injuries were less severe and did not require hospitalization. A total of 543 people were injured in the accident. [5] Some bystanders suffered serious mental disorders from what they saw. [6]

Following the disaster, the pilots stated that the flight map which they had received differed from the actual layout. On the cockpit voice recorder, one pilot asks, "And where are our spectators?". [7] Others have suggested that the pilots were slow to react to automated warnings issued by the flight computer. [7]

Aftermath

Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma publicly blamed the military for the disaster and dismissed the head of the air force, General Viktor Strelnykov. [8] Minister of Defense Volodymyr Shkidchenko offered his resignation, but Kuchma rejected it. [9]

On 24 June 2005, a military 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 ₴7.2 million (US$1.42 million; €1.18 million) in compensation to the families, and Yegorov ₴2.5 million. The crew's main flight trainer was acquitted for lack of evidence. [10] [11]

After the verdict was announced, Toponar said that he planned to appeal, insisting that the crash was due to technical problems and a faulty flight plan. Yegorov was released in 2008 after President Viktor Yushchenko issued a decree reducing his sentence to three and a half years. [12]

The pilots were assigned the majority of the blame, which included accusations of attempting maneuvers with which they were not experienced. Toponar had requested an additional training flight at the airfield where the display was to be performed, but the request was denied. [13]

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 last maneuver—an oblique loop with a turn—the plane became uncontrollable. During the trial they said it was caused by pilot error due to inexperience. I have 27 years in the cockpit with 2,000 hours flying 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." [14] [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air show</span> Public event where aircraft are exhibited

An air show is a public event where aircraft are exhibited. They often include aerobatics demonstrations, without they are called "static air shows" with aircraft parked on the ground.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sukhoi Su-27</span> Russian 4th generation fighter aircraft

The Sukhoi Su-27 is a Soviet-origin twin-engine supersonic supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the large US fourth-generation jet fighters such as the Grumman F-14 Tomcat and McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, with 3,530-kilometre (1,910 nmi) range, heavy aircraft ordnance, sophisticated avionics and high maneuverability. The Su-27 was designed for air superiority missions, and subsequent variants are able to perform almost all aerial warfare operations. It was designed with the Mikoyan MiG-29 as its complement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramstein air show disaster</span> August 1988 air show mid-air collision in West Germany

The Ramstein air show disaster occurred on Sunday, 28 August 1988 during the Flugtag '88 airshow at USAF Ramstein Air Base near Kaiserslautern, West Germany. Three aircraft of the Italian Air Force display team collided during their display, crashing to the ground in front of a crowd of about 300,000 people. There were 70 fatalities, and 346 spectators sustained serious injuries in the resulting explosion and fire. Hundreds more had minor injuries. At the time, it was the deadliest air show accident in history until a 2002 crash at the Sknyliv air show that killed 77.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2002 Überlingen mid-air collision</span> Fatal collision over Germany

On 1 July 2002, BALBashkirian Airlines Flight 2937, a Tupolev Tu-154 passenger jet, and DHL International Aviation ME Flight 611, a Boeing 757 cargo jet, collided in mid-air over Überlingen, a southern German town on Lake Constance, near the Swiss border. All of the passengers and crew aboard both planes were killed, resulting in a total death toll of 71.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ukrainian Falcons</span> Military unit

The Ukrainian Falcons were the aerobatic demonstration team of the Ukrainian Air Force. It was established in 1995 as a team of 6 MiG-29 aircraft and disbanded in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lviv Danylo Halytskyi International Airport</span> International airport serving Lviv, Ukraine

Lviv Danylo Halytskyi International Airport is an international airport in Lviv, Ukraine, located 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from the central city. It is the second largest and busiest airport in Ukraine. The airport is named after King Daniel of Galicia, the historical founder of the city in 1256 AD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1956 Grand Canyon mid-air collision</span> Mid-air collision on June 30, 1956 over the Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon mid-air collision occurred in the western United States on June 30, 1956, when a United Airlines Douglas DC-7 struck a Trans World Airlines Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation over Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. The first one fell into a canyon and the other one slammed into a rock face. All 128 on board both airplanes perished, making it the first commercial airline incident to exceed one hundred fatalities. The airplanes had departed Los Angeles International Airport minutes apart from each other and headed for Chicago and Kansas City, respectively. The collision took place in uncontrolled airspace, where it was the pilots' responsibility to maintain separation. This highlighted the antiquated state of air traffic control, which became the focus of major aviation reforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1948 Gatow air disaster</span>

The 1948 Gatow air disaster was a mid-air collision in the airspace above Berlin, Germany that occurred on 5 April, sparking an international incident. A British European Airways (BEA) Vickers VC.1B Viking airliner crashed near RAF Gatow air base, after being struck by a Soviet Air Force Yakovlev Yak-3 fighter aircraft. All ten passengers and four crew on board the Viking were killed, as was the Soviet pilot. The disaster resulted in a diplomatic standoff between the United Kingdom and United States on one hand, and the Soviet Union on the other, and intensified distrust leading up to the Berlin Blockade in the early years of the Cold War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aerosvit Flight 241</span> 1997 aviation accident

Aerosvit Flight 241 (VV241/EW241) was a scheduled international passenger flight from the Ukrainian city of Odesa to Thessaloniki, Greece. On 17 December 1997, the Yakovlev Yak-42 operating the flight registered as UR-42334 flew into a mountainside during a missed approach into Thessaloniki in Greece. All 70 people aboard were killed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1973 Paris Air Show Tu-144 crash</span> Aviation accident

The 1973 Paris Air Show Tu-144 crash was the destruction of the second production Tupolev Tu-144 at Goussainville, Val-d'Oise, France, which killed all six crew members and eight people on the ground. The crash, at the Paris Air Show on Sunday, 3 June 1973, damaged the development program of the Tupolev Tu-144.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1997 Irkutsk Antonov An-124 crash</span>

On 6 December 1997 a Russian Air Force Antonov An-124-100, en route from Irkutsk Northwest Airport to Cam Ranh Air Base in Vietnam, crashed in a residential area after takeoff from the airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1938 Santa Ana air show disaster</span>

The 1938 Santa Ana air show disaster occurred on 24 July 1938 at a military review on the Campo de Marte in the Santa Ana district of Bogota, Colombia. During the review, a Curtiss Hawk II biplane of the Colombian Air Force piloted by Lieutenant César Abadia performed a stunt before crashing into a grandstand and then into the crowd.

Events in the year 2002 in Ukraine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Irkutsk military aircraft crash</span> Plane crash in Russia

The crash of the Su-30 occurred at about 17:30 local time on 23 October 2022 in the city of Irkutsk in eastern Russia. The Su-30SM aircraft was performing a test flight when it fell on a wooden two-story residential building in 2nd Sovetsky Lane. Both the pilots were killed. The residents of the house were not hurt as they were not home.

References

  1. 1 2 Stepanenko, Svetlana (21 August 2002). "Deadly Performance. Ukrainian Militarys Prestige Crashes on Lvov Airfield". The Current Digest of the Russian Press. 54 (30): 16. Retrieved 24 March 2011. 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.
  2. ↑ "EVXpress – Deadly Performance. Ukrainian Militarys Prestige Crashes on Lvov Airfield – The Current Digest of the Russian Press, 2002, No. 30, Vol. 54" . dlib.eastview.com. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  3. ↑ Kozyrieva, Tetiana (8 September 2009). "Two Sknyliv boys seven years later". The Day . Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  4. ↑ "Pilots blamed for Ukraine air disaster". BBC News. 29 July 2002.
  5. ↑ Kirillov, Roman (27 July 2005). "Pilots Convicted for Disaster During Air Show". The Current Digest of the Russian Press. 56 (26): 9–10. Archived from the original on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2011. 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
  6. ↑ "Історія авіакатастроф у Львові" [History of airplane crashes in Lviv]. lviv-future.com.ua (in Ukrainian). 6 February 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  7. 1 2 "EVXpress – Ukrainian Pilots Failed to Obey Female Voice – The Current Digest of the Russian Press, 2002, No. 31, Vol. 54". dlib.eastview.com. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  8. ↑ "Ukrainian, Russian papers assess plane crashes". 30 July 2002. Retrieved 14 March 2021– via BBC.
  9. ↑ "Ukraine crash report blames pilots". BBC News. 7 August 2002.
  10. ↑ "Air show disaster pilots jailed". CNN . 24 June 2005. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  11. ↑ "...As Ukraine Pilots Get Jail Time For Air Show Crash". AVweb. 29 June 2005. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  12. ↑ Zawada, Zenon (19 August 2012). "Lviv area residents remember Sknyliv air show disaster of 2002" (PDF). The Ukrainian Weekly . Vol. LXXX, no. 34. pp. 1, 4.
  13. ↑ "Pilots to Blame for Air Show Crash: Top Investigator". People's Daily Online . 8 August 2002.
  14. ↑ "Владимир Топонарь: «За мной вины нет. Меня просто сделали козлом отпущения»" [Vladimir Toponar: "I am not to blame. They just made me a scapegoat."]. Fakty i Kommentarii (in Ukrainian). 20 September 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  15. ↑ Wrigley, Sylvia (5 August 2016). "Disaster at the Air Show". Fear of Landing. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  16. ↑ Амеліна, Вікторія (2017). Дім для дома : роман[Dom's Dream Kingdom] (in Ukrainian). Львів: Видавництво Старого Лева. ISBN   9786176794165.

49°49′N23°57′E / 49.817°N 23.950°E / 49.817; 23.950

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.