Fourteen years ago, one of the worst events in the history of modern Ukraine happened - the Sknylivsky tragedy. July 27, 2002 at the Sknilov airport, which is located near Lviv, an air show was held in honor of the 60th anniversary of the 14th air corps of the Ukrainian Air Force. Then a Su-27UB fighter crashed into a crowd of spectators and exploded. There is still debate over who really is to blame for the deaths of 77 people.
Fighter
The Su-27 was developed by the end of the 70s, and since the mid-80s it has been actively operated in the aviation units of the USSR Air Force. This aircraft is characterized by excellent maneuverability. Using the Su-27, test pilot Yevgeny Pugachev in Le Bourget demonstrated a new aerobatics figure - Pugachev cobra. It consists in the following: the plane lifts its nose up, without changing the direction of flight, flies tail forward for a while, and then returns to its original position. Of course, for the retraining of pilots, a combat training modification of the Su-27UB was developed. This aircraft is a two-seater, and the pilots in it are seated one after another. It was the Su-27UB that took off at about noon from the Ozernoye airfield, which is located near Zhitomir, and headed towards the Sknilov airfield, where it was to become one of the elements of the air show program.
The crew commander was Colonel Vladimir Anatolyevich Toponar, and the co-pilot was Colonel Yuri Mikhailovich Egorov. Both had a solid raid: Toponar had about 1900 hours, and Egorov had 2000. In addition, the crew commander has represented the Ukrainian Falcons since 1996, and no one doubts the professionalism of the pilots.
Air show
According to the organizers of the air show, in addition to the exhibition of aviation equipment, four planes were supposed to make demonstration flights that day. The first to compete were two Yak-52 sports trainings, which, after simulating a battle, effectively flew over the platform where the guests of honor were. The then Air Force commander of Ukraine Viktor Strelnikov ordered to ban overflight. But it was too late to change anything. The MiG-29 fighter was supposed to be the third, but its flight was canceled, and the Su-27UB of Toponary and Egorov already flew up to the Sknilov airfield.
Sknilovskaya tragedy
At about 12:41, the deputy commander of the 14th air corps, Anatoly Tretyakov, gave the command “start”. "Su-27UB" began to decline and made a pass over the spectator stands. Then he began to perform the first aerobatics - “oblique loop”. But the altitude is dangerous, which the pilots are informed about by the on-board computer signal. According to the recording of the flight recorder, after that the crew could not determine where the spectators were.
Then Egorov decides to make a “barrel”, which will become fatal: the fighter has sharply lost its height. Yuri Yatsyuk, who was the deputy director of flights, commands to turn from the ground, but because of this, the plane also loses speed. The “fast and furious” command follows, but this doesn’t help either: the fighter sags and falls. Having hooked a tree with its wing, the S-27UB crushes the tanker’s cabin, cuts the planes at the airfield with its wings. At this moment, Toponar and Egorov are ejected. A completely uncontrollable fighter crashes into a crowd of spectators and explodes, a terrible fire begins. The hands of the clock showed 12:52.
Effects
Firefighters and ambulances immediately arrived at the crash site. But many Sknilovsky tragedy took their lives. The death toll totals 77 people, of which 28 are children. 543 people were recognized as victims. Shortly after the crash, an investigation was launched by a commission of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, which determined that the main reason was the deviation of the crew from the intended flight mission and errors in piloting the aircraft.
Air Force Commander Colonel General Viktor Strelnikov, who was later arrested by the Prosecutor General’s Office, was dismissed by President Leonid Kuchma. The trial of the surviving pilots and their leaders dragged on until 2005. According to the verdict, Toponar was to spend the next 14 years of his life in prison and pay a fine of 7.2 million hryvnias, which was later reduced to 150, 000. Egorov was also sentenced to 8 years in prison and a fine of 2.5 million hryvnias. At the moment, both are already at large. Tretyakov and Yatsyuk were given 6 years in prison and a fine of 700, 000 hryvnias.
Anatoly Lukin, who led the flight safety service, was sentenced to 4 years in prison. The only defendant who was acquitted was Oleg Dzyubetskiy, who was responsible for the training of the crew. None of them pleaded guilty. Four former generals, among whom was Viktor Strelnikov, were also put on trial, but in 2008 they were acquitted. The 2002 Sknilov tragedy also caused the dissolution of the Ukrainian Falcons, of which Toponar was a member. At the moment, in Ukraine, demonstration air shows are not held at all. The Sknilov tragedy demonstrated what spectacular performances of airplanes can turn out to be due to the negligence of people.
Memory
The victims and relatives of the victims were paid a one-time compensation in the amount of about 55 thousand hryvnias. But after that people were simply forgotten. According to Stefan Kozak, head of the Sknilovskaya Tragedy public organization, the victims are not under any social guardianship or rehabilitation. According to him, some officials replied that, they say, people themselves are to blame for having gone to an air show. They are remembered only when the next anniversary of the tragedy comes. At the airport, a small chapel was erected for donations from all over the world and funds of the Sknilovsky Tragedy organization. Photos of the dead are in it on a poster titled "77 Angels." Their relatives and friends often come here. Sknilovsky tragedy did not go unnoticed in the media space. The documentary film "Forgiveness" of the STB channel tells exactly about it.
