Ukraine crash report blames pilots

The Su-27 failed to pull out of a manoeuvre in time

The crash of a fighter jet at a Ukrainian air show which killed 85 people was caused by pilot error, an official report into the incident has concluded.

The main cause of the plane crash was a failure to respect the flight plan

Yevhen Marchuk,
head of inquiry

The head of the commission set up to investigate the crash said the pilots had failed to follow the flight plan and performed difficult manoeuvres which they had not done before.

Yevhen Marchuk added that operational issues, organisational problems and a lack of safety measures had contributed to make it the world's worst air show disaster.

The Su-27 jet ploughed into spectators after touching the ground when flying too low during the air show in the western city of Lviv last month.

President Leonid Kuchma sacked the country's top air force commanders after the incident, but refused to accept the resignation of the defence minister.

More than 150 people were injured in the accident - 85 of them are still in hospital, some of them in critical condition.

Twenty-seven children were among the dead.

No co-ordination

"The main cause of the plane crash was a failure to respect the flight plan and aerial manoeuvres that were not on the programme," Mr Marchuk said.

The tragedy sparked an outpouring of grief

According to witnesses, the pilots flew the jet over the crowd of about 10,000 people.

In many countries, crowd exclusion zones are enforced at air shows and pilots are barred from carrying out manoeuvres below a certain height.

Mr Marchuk said there was no proper co-ordination among the bodies taking part in the show.

The two pilots had been serving in different wings, the flight controller came from another base and the jet was supplied by yet another unit.

Both pilots survived the disaster after ejecting from the aircraft.

Grounded

Mr Marchuk also accused the ground services of not taking adequate measures to ensure the safety of spectators.

The theory which appeared in the media that the plane was brought down by a mysterious cylindrical object was rejected by the commission.

Mr Marchuk said that organisational procedures and pilot training would continue to be investigated.

President Kuchma has banned military planes from flying at air shows and, with the exception of planes on active air defence guard, all military aircraft have been grounded.