Crash of SU-27 - Radom Airshow 2009

Hammer Birchgrove said:
Did the pilot(s) survive? Did anyone on the ground get hurt? ??? :(
Click to expand...

From Flightglobal webpage:

VIDEO: Su-27 crashes at Radom Air Show
By David Kaminski-Morrow

Two Sukhoi Su-27 pilots have thought to have died after their aircraft crashed while displaying at the Radom Air Show in Poland.

Video footage of the accident, from Polish television, shows the aircraft rolling to the right, inverting and pitching down, before rolling left to a level attitude, but failing to arrest its descent.

Today's display programme had listed a 15min Su-27 display scheduled for 13:15.

Belarus' ministry of defence had previously confirmed that it would provide a Sukhoi Su-27UBM for the show, as well as a Sukhoi Su-24 and Ilyushin Il-76. The crashed Su-27 is said to have been the Belarussian aircraft.

Radom, which lies to the south of Warsaw, hosts a biennial air show. The last event, in 2007, was marred by a fatal mid-air collision involving two Zlin Z-526 aircraft from the Zelazny aerobatic team.
Click to expand...
 
They also lost an Su-27 in Paris (was it in 2005?)

Since it had happened on the previous day and I hadn't watched the news, I couldn't understand why the folks at Sukhoi looked so gloomy and silent. When I asked why Sukhoi wasn't presenting an aircraft that year, one of the guys answered with a strong Russian accent: "Is this your idea of a joke?" (or something to that effect). I was so embarrassed a few minutes later when I learned about what happened....
 
Fortunately for them (and us) they didn't have time to develop a flyable stealth fighter... If they had, chances are a few of them would have crashed at airshows, and stealth technology might have ended up in the wrong hands...
 
apropos crashed stealth fighter.

[flash=200,200]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2wYvr20nAg[/flash]
 
ITAR-TASS is reporting the following:

WARSAW, August 30 (Itar-Tass) -- Both pilots of a Belarusian Sukhoi Su-27, which crashed at an air show in Poland on Sunday while performing an aerobatic program, are dead, TVN Polish channel said.

The Su-27 went down at the very end of its performance and exploded. The explosion happened far from viewers and none of them was hurt.

One dead pilot has been found, and the search for the other goes on. Chances to find him alive are practically non-existent, as neither pilot had time to eject himself.
Click to expand...
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=14281943&PageNum=0

Tragic news, indeed. Thankfully, it appears that no one else was injured or killed in the crash. I don't understand why there seems to be a tragedy contest going on in this thread. Yes, it isn't as bad as the Sknyliv airshow disaster on July 25, 2002 in Lviv, Ukraine in which 85 spectators were killed, but it's still a tragedy. Let's stop this nonsense before someone starts posting video of the Ramstein airshow disaster of August 28, 1988 or the Sknyliv airshow disaster.
 
Tonight's 8 o'clock news on national TV talked about both pilots dying in the crash... Who's right?
 
Stargazer2006 said:
Tonight's 8 o'clock news on national TV talked about both pilots dying in the crash... Who's right?
Click to expand...

Seven-and-a-half hours ago Polskie Radio reported that the bodies of both pilots have been recovered.

Two Belarusian pilots were killed when their Su-17 crashed at the International Air Show in Radom, central Poland, Sunday.

The aircraft came down at 13.17 CET. The two bodies of the airmen have been recovered.

President Lech Kaczyński sent his condolences to the families of the two Belarusians. "On behalf of the Polish nation, you have our deepest sorrow and sympathy,” he said.

Unofficial information suggests that after the plane got into difficulties one of the pilots contacted the control tower and said he wanted to eject from the aircraft. The Sukhoi Su-12 fighter jet’s close proximity to the audience at the show, however, made the procedure impossible. It's possible that the pilots gave their lives to save others below.

The names of the two pilots have not been released to the media, but one of them is known to be a deputy-commander in the Belarusian air force with 20 years flying experience.
Click to expand...
http://www.polskieradio.pl/thenews/national/artykul114951_belarusian_pilots_die_in_crash__radom.html

Keep in mind that the ITAR-TASS story was written before the body of the second pilot had been recovered, but confidence was high that he also did not survive the crash. 'Chances to find him alive are practically non-existent, as neither pilot had time to eject himself.'
 

Similar threads

Back
Top Bottom