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{{Short description|2002 air show disaster in Ukraine}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}} {{Infobox aircraft occurrence | occurrence_type = Accident | name = Sknyliv air show disaster | image = SU27 - RIAT 2011 (8584951905).jpg | image_upright = 1.15 | caption = A [[Sukhoi Su-27|Sukhoi Su-27UB]] performing at an air show | date = {{start date|df=y|2002|07|27}} | type = [[Pilot error]] during [[aerobatic maneuver]] | site = [[Sknyliv|Sknyliv Airfield]]<br />near [[Lviv]], Ukraine | total_fatalities = 77 (on ground) | total_injuries = 545 | ground_fatalities = 77 | ground_injuries = 543 | aircraft_type = [[Sukhoi Su-27|Sukhoi Su-27UB]] | tail_number = | operator = {{Air force|UKR}}<br /> [[Ukrainian Falcons]] | occupants = 2 | crew = 2 | injuries = 2 | survivors = 2 | fatalities = 0 }} [[File:Lviv Airlines Ilyushin Il-76MD Shevelev-1.jpg|thumb|The damaged IL-76MD (UR-76717)]] The '''Sknyliv air show disaster''' occurred on 27 July 2002, when a [[Ukrainian Air Force]] [[Sukhoi Su-27|Sukhoi Su-27UB]] aircraft, [[Aircraft pilot|piloted]] by Volodymyr Toponar (of the [[Ukrainian Falcons]]) and [[First officer (aviation)|co-piloted]] by Yuriy Yegorov, crashed into spectators during an [[aerobatics]] presentation at [[Sknyliv|Sknyliv airfield]] near [[Lviv]], Ukraine. The accident killed 77 people and injured 543. It is [[Lists of air show accidents and incidents|the deadliest air show accident in history]]. == Crash == More than 10,000 spectators attended the [[air show]], staged to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Ukrainian Air Force's [[14th Air Army|14th Air Corps]].<ref name="CurDi-2002" /> The Su-27 aircraft was flown by two experienced pilots; it entered a [[slow roll (aeronautics)|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 seat|ejection]]. The aircraft flattened out initially, before skidding over the ground towards stationary aircraft and striking a glancing blow against the nose of an [[Ilyushin Il-76]], at which point the jet exploded and cartwheeled into the crowd of spectators.{{cn|date=July 2022}} Both pilots survived with minor injuries, while 77 spectators were killed, including 28 children.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kozyrieva|first1=Tetiana|title=Two Sknyliv boys seven years later|url=http://www.day.kiev.ua/en/article/society/two-sknyliv-boys-seven-years-later|access-date=27 June 2015|work=[[The Day (Kiev)|The Day]]|date=8 September 2009}}</ref> Another 100 were hospitalized for head injuries, burns, and bone fractures.<ref name="CurDi-2002">{{cite journal | title = Deadly Performance. Ukrainian Militarys Prestige Crashes on Lvov Airfield | journal = The Current Digest of the Russian Press | date = August 21, 2002 | first = Svetlana | last = Stepanenko | volume = 54 | issue = 30 | pages = 16| url = http://dlib.eastview.com/browse/doc/13715639 |url-access=subscription | access-date = 2011-03-24 | quote = 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.}}</ref><ref name="bbc2002">{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2159332.stm | work=BBC News | title=Pilots blamed for Ukraine air disaster | date=29 July 2002}}</ref> Other injuries were less severe and did not require hospitalization. A total of 543 people were injured in the accident.<ref name="CurDi-Convicted">{{cite journal | title = Pilots Convicted for Disaster During Air Show | journal = The Current Digest of the Russian Press | date = July 27, 2005 | first = Roman | last = Kirillov | volume = 56 | issue = 26 | pages = 9–10 | url = http://dlib.eastview.com/browse/doc/13772846 | access-date = 2011-03-24 | quote = 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 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120330104143/http://dlib.eastview.com/browse/doc/13772846 | archive-date = March 30, 2012 }}</ref> Some bystanders suffered serious mental disorders from what they saw.<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 February 2023 |title=Історія авіакатастроф у Львові |trans-title=History of airplane crashes in Lviv |url=https://lviv-future.com.ua/uk/eternal-istoriya-aviakatastrof-u-lvovi |accessdate=13 March 2023 |website=lviv-future.com.ua |language=uk}}</ref> Following the disaster, the pilots stated that the flight map which they had received differed from the actual layout. On the [[Flight recorder#Cockpit voice recorder|cockpit voice recorder]], one pilot asks, "And where are our spectators?".<ref name="femalevoice">{{Cite web|url=http://dlib.eastview.com/browse/doc/13716213|title=EVXpress – Ukrainian Pilots Failed to Obey Female Voice – The Current Digest of the Russian Press, 2002, No. 31, Vol. 54|website=dlib.eastview.com|access-date=2016-12-16}}</ref> Others have suggested that the pilots were slow to react to automated warnings issued by the [[flight computer]].<ref name="femalevoice" /> == Aftermath == On August 7, an investigation conducted by [[Yevhen Marchuk]], the [[National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine|National 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.<ref>Ilenko, Zoriana (August 8, 2002). [https://www.newspapers.com/article/national-post-dangerous-stunt-caused-ukr/159055991/ Dangerous stunt caused Ukrainian crash: report]. ''National Post''. Retrieved November 14, 2024.</ref> Toponar rejected Marchuk's findings and claimed that technical issues and a faulty flight plan was what led to the crash.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/article/pacific-daily-news-pilot-says-technical/159066296/ Pilot says technical problems to blame]. ''Pacific Daily News''. August 11, 2002. Retrieved November 14, 2024.</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 8, 2002 |title=Pilots to Blame for Air Show Crash: Top Investigator |url=http://en.people.cn/200208/08/eng20020808_101150.shtml |access-date= |website=[[People's Daily Online]]}}</ref> [[President of Ukraine|Ukrainian President]] [[Leonid Kuchma]] publicly blamed the military for the disaster and dismissed the head of the air force, General Viktor Strelnykov.<ref>{{Cite news |date=Jul 30, 2002 |title=Ukrainian, Russian papers assess plane crashes |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/not_in_website/syndication/monitoring/media_reports/2160690.stm |accessdate=Mar 14, 2021 |work=BBC News}}</ref> [[Minister of Defense (Ukraine)|Minister of Defense]] [[Volodymyr Shkidchenko]] offered his resignation, but Kuchma rejected it.<ref name="bbc">{{cite news| url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2178539.stm | work=BBC News | title=Ukraine crash report blames pilots | date=7 August 2002}}</ref> === Prosecution === On 24 June 2005, a [[Court-martial|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 [[Ukrainian hryvnia|₴]]7.2 million ([[United States dollar|US$]]1.42 million; [[Euro|€]]1.18 million) in compensation to the families, and Yegorov ₴2.5 million. The crew's main flight trainer was [[acquittal|acquitted]] for lack of evidence.<ref name="cnn">{{Cite web |date=Jun 24, 2005 |title=Air show disaster pilots jailed |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/06/24/ukraine.airshow/ |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=[[CNN]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=June 29, 2005 |title=...As Ukraine Pilots Get Jail Time For Air Show Crash |url=https://www.avweb.com/leadnews/as-ukraine-pilots-get-jail-time-for-air-show-crash/ |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=AVweb |language=en-US}}</ref> After the verdict was announced, Toponar said that he planned to [[appeal]], insisting that the crash was due to [[Turbine engine failure|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.<ref name="ukrainian weekly">{{cite news |last=Zawada |first=Zenon |date=19 August 2012 |title=Lviv area residents remember Sknyliv air show disaster of 2002 |volume=LXXX |pages=1,4 |work=[[The Ukrainian Weekly]] |issue=34 |url=http://www.ukrweekly.com/archive/pdf3/2012/The_Ukrainian_Weekly_2012-34.pdf}}</ref> 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 [[Flight 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."<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 September 2013 |title=Владимир Топонарь: «За мной вины нет. Меня просто сделали козлом отпущения» |trans-title=Vladimir Toponar: "I am not to blame. They just made me a scapegoat." |url=https://fakty.ua/170017-vladimir-toponar-za-mnoj-viny-net-menya-prosto-sdelali-kozlom-otpucsheniya |access-date=2022-10-20 |website=[[Fakty i Kommentarii]] |language=uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Wrigley |first=Sylvia |date=2016-08-05 |title= Disaster at the Air Show |url= https://fearoflanding.com/history/disaster-at-the-air-show/ |access-date= 2022-10-20 |website=Fear of Landing |language=en-GB}}</ref> == In popular culture == * The disaster forms the backdrop of an episode in [[Victoria Amelina]]'s ''Дім для Дома''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Amelina |first=Victoria |title=Дім для дома : роман |publisher=Old Lion Publishing House |year=2017 |isbn=9786176794165 |location=Львів |language=uk |trans-title=Dom's Dream Kingdom}}</ref> The main characters of the novel (one of whom is a retired Soviet military pilot) attend the air show and witness the disaster, but none of them is injured. == See also == * [[Lists of air show accidents and incidents]] == References == {{Reflist|30em}} == External links == * {{in lang|ru}} [http://www.obozrevatel.com/news/2006/1/27/83579.htm ''Prosecution's Aerobatics After the Sknyliv Tragedy''] (2006 journalist investigation of the accident, includes photos of the crash moment) * {{in lang|uk}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20070311113059/http://www.zn.kiev.ua/nn/show/404/35672/ 2004 Article in Ukrainian ''Dzerkalo Tyznhya'' weekly] * [http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/07/28/1027497446606.html Sydney Morning Herald article] * [http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/07/28/ukraine.detained/index.html CNN article] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130403145420/http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/07/28/ukraine.detained/index.html |date=3 April 2013 }} {{Lviv-related topics}} {{Aviation accidents and incidents in 2002}} {{Aviation accidents and incidents in Ukraine}} {{Su-27 family}} {{coord|49|49|N|23|57|E|region:UA-46_type:landmark_scale:20000|display=title}} [[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents at air shows]] [[Category:Accidents and incidents involving military aircraft]] [[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents of Sukhoi aircraft]] [[Category:History of aerobatics]] [[Category:Ukrainian Air Force]] [[Category:Military history of Lviv]] [[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 2002]] [[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Ukraine]] [[Category:Sukhoi Su-27]] [[Category:2002 in Ukraine]] [[Category:July 2002 in Ukraine]] [[Category:2002 disasters in Ukraine]] [[Category:Filmed deaths during aviation accidents and incidents]]
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