Lviv air conference accident
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The crash of a Sukhoi Su-27 during an air show on July 27, 2002 at the Ukrainian military airfield Sknyliw near Lemberg ( Lviv in Ukrainian ) is to date the worst accident that has ever occurred during an aerobatic demonstration. 86 people were killed; more than 500 were injured.
the accident
The Sukhoi Su-27 (NATO designation "Flanker") of the Ukrainian Air Force was flown by two experienced officers. The pilot of the machine, Lieutenant Colonel Volodymyr Toponar, was a member of the “ Ukrainian Falcons ” aerobatic team at the time . There are several film recordings that show the course of the accident without any gaps. When viewing the images you can see that the aircraft during a tight left-hand bend with almost 90 ° -Querneigung the inner wing obviously a stall has. This leads to a (probably unwanted) quarter roll on your back. Instead of rolling into normal flight position with half a roll, the pilot pulls the aircraft down and out with a half loop. He's obviously pulling too hard, perhaps because of the proximity to the ground. As a result, the flow breaks off again (but this time symmetrically) and the aircraft continues to sink uncontrollably until it hits the ground. The machine then slides across the airfield and through the crowd before it explodes. Both pilots were able to save themselves with the ejection seat .
The completely correct topography of the airfield including the display area has not yet been clarified. On video, it looks like the flight demonstration is taking place somewhere over the airfield, without any restriction.
Cause of accident
Experts examined the following possible causes for the accident:
- Pilot error
- Engine damage
- Violation of the safety guidelines for aerobatic demonstrations by the pilots or ground staff
- inaccurate flight plan
- Overloading the machine from too much fuel
On numerous amateur videos of the course of the accident, it can be heard that the engines go silent immediately before the taxiing maneuver (approx. Ten seconds before touching the ground), but howl again after about two seconds.
As is usually the case with such accidents, only a chain of several errors leads to a disaster:
- The stall as a direct trigger of the sequence of events (caused by pilot or technical errors)
- Decision of the pilot to re-establish with a half loop instead of half a roll despite being close to the ground
- Why is the aircraft even in a position from which it races into the audience if such a mistake occurs?
Officially, the main culprit was finally assigned to the two pilots.
consequences
The Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma , who saw the accident on the spot, publicly blamed the military for the accident and dismissed the chief of the air force, General Volodymyr Strelnykov. Defense Minister Volodymyr Shkidchenko offered to resign, but President Kuchma refused. On June 24, 2005, a military tribunal sentenced Volodymyr Toponar to fourteen years in prison. His copilot Yuri Yegorov was sentenced to eight years in prison. Both of them also have to pay large sums of money to the families of the victims. In addition to the pilots, three other military personnel received prison sentences of up to four years.
Web links
- Prosecution's Aerobatics After the Sknyliv Tragedy Russian report on the course of the accident (2006) with pictures
- Russia-News: Long prison sentences for air show accident
Individual evidence
- ↑ Long prison sentences for air show accident on Russia News, accessed on September 21, 2018