Kindgo
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July 27, 2002 Posted: 8:50 AM EDT (1250 GMT)
The plane ploughed across the airfield and exploded in a giant fireball
 An SU-27 similar to the one that crashed
KIEV, Ukraine (CNN) -- Up to 40 people have been killed after a Russian warplane crashed into a crowd of spectators at an airshow in the Ukraine, the country's Emergencies Ministry has said.
The Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jet was performing acrobatics at the show in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv when it plunged to the ground at Skniliv airfield, close to the border with Poland.
More than 65 people were injured in the tragedy and have been taken to hospital, the ministry told CNN.
The aircraft had just performed a steep turn when it appeared to tumble and enter a steep dive from which it failed to recover.
Spectators watched in horror was the plane smashed into onlookers and ploughed across the airfield on its side before it exploded in a huge fireball.
The pilots ejected just before the impact and at least one parachute was seen to flare open as fierce flames and plumes of black smoke erupted from the wreckage.
Dazed and bloodied survivors of the tragedy gazed in shock and horror at bodies of the victims strewn over the ground.
CNN Moscow Bureau chief Jill Dougherty said the plane was performing acrobatics to mark the 60th anniversary of a division of Ukraine's airforce.
The two pilots of the aircraft survived, she added.
Officials at Sknyliv said the local Ukrainian airforce wing was celebrating its 60th anniversary at the show.
An SU-27 similar to the one that crashed
Television pictures from the scene showed the crash appeared to have damaged the nose section of an Ilyushin Il-76 cargo aircraft on the ground.
Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma has cut short a vacation and is heading for Lviv, Interfax Ukraine added.
He has also ordered the secretary of the Defence and Security Council, Yevhen Marchuk, to lead a government commission to investigate the case, The Associated Press said.
Ukraine's post-Soviet armed forces have been struggling with financial difficulties since the collapse of communism a decade ago, Reuters news agency said.
Their reputation was tarnished last year when a stray test missile brought down a Russian airliner.
The Russian-built Sukhoi Su-27 fighter, NATO codename Flanker, is comparable to the U.S. F-15 Eagle, but has a superior performance in many respects.
A Russian military export success, it is now a key frontline fighter for the air forces of China and Vietnam, as well as Ukraine and some Central Asian republics, Reuters said.
The Su-27 amazed audiences at its first appearances at Western airshows in the 1990s with aerobatic manoeuvres previously unknown for a twin-engined jet aircraft of its size.
Besides featuring Su-27s and Mig-29 warplanes, the Lviv airshow also included flights of gliders, light-engine planes and parachute jumping, the Interfax news agency reported.
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God bless,
Kindgo
Inside the will of God there is no failure. Outside the will of God there is no success.
Posts: 4320 | From: Sunny Florida | Registered: Jun 2002
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