The worst air show accident in history has occurred in Ukraine, the gateway to Europe.
Air shows like Farnborough are sure to be a highlight for attendees.
But when powerful engines and humans come together, the atmosphere of an air show can change in an instant.
The 2002 Sknyrikh Air Show disaster near Lviv, Ukraine, is a sad reminder of this.
On July 27, more than 10,000 people gathered at the Sknyriv Airfield to attend an exhibition marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of the 14th Air Corps of the Ukrainian Air Force.
But the whole thing went horribly wrong, leaving 77 people dead and 543 injured.
Fighter jets crush spectators
Spectators were entertained by skilled pilots and planes, including a Russian-made Sukhoi Su-27 that was ready to perform some fearsome rolling aerobatics in the air, a classic air show stunt.
Just before 1 p.m., the fighter pilot began a rolling maneuver at low altitude.
As the jet was diving, its left wing suddenly gave way and it crashed into the ground with tragic consequences.
Pilot Volodymyr Toponar and co-pilot Yuri Egorov managed to eject after realising things had gone terribly wrong and survived with only minor injuries.
The wing struck a treetop after the pilot ejected, the BBC reported at the time.
However, the jet did not stop moving after hitting the ground, but continued to roll, crashing into the nose of an Ilyishin Il-76MD transport plane and hitting people.
It then did a cartwheel before exploding into a terrifying fireball and was hurled towards the shocked spectators with little hope of escape.
Families spent agonizing waits at the hospital to hear what had happened to their loved ones.
Svetlana Atamaniuk told The Associated Press that she lost her daughter and granddaughter while waiting outside the crowded morgue.
She said: “My only daughter and her husband and their two daughters are lying there.”
The day was declared a national day of mourning as authorities worked to recover and identify Sknyliu’s victims.
The BBC reported that identifying the victims had been “extremely difficult” because many of the bodies had been dismembered by metal shrapnel inside the plane.
Pursuing responsibility for the disaster
The accident killed 77 people and left hundreds injured and hospitalized.
After the mayhem died down, the pilots were taken to a military tribunal, Simple Flying reported.
In court, the men claimed that the maps they were given of the airfield did not reflect its actual layout.
They also argued in their defense that their request for an additional rehearsal flight before the performance was denied.
Prosecutors argued that the pilots attempted complex maneuvers that they had never performed before and did not react quickly enough to warnings from flight monitors. An investigation found that spectators flew too close to the flight line and in too small an area.
The struggle for accountability spread to the highest levels of Ukrainian society after then-President Leonid Kuchma publicly blamed the military.
The president also dismissed the commander of the Air Force, General Viktor Strelnikov, according to the media report.
Three years after the tragedy, Toponar and Egorov were sentenced by a military tribunal to 14 and eight years in prison respectively, but Egorov’s sentence was commuted by the president and he was released in 2008.
Three other soldiers were also found guilty of negligence and disobeying orders.
Pilot Toponer blamed the crash on technical issues and a flawed flight plan.
2015 Shoreham Air Show crash
Despite safety improvements, there have been a series of fatal accidents at air shows since then, including in the UK.
Nine years ago on August 22nd, a devastating disaster occurred in Shoreham, Sussex, leaving 11 people dead and 13 injured.
Witnesses described a “huge fireball” causing chaos, with one survivor saying it was like something out of a Hollywood movie.
Following the disaster, the UK Civil Aviation Authority carried out a review of civil aviation exhibition regulations and recommended several changes, including to improve public safety.
The CAA said the airshow is the UK’s “second largest outdoor public event draw”.
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