Sukhoi Su-27 - Notable Accidents

Notable Accidents

  • 9 September 1990: a Soviet Su-27 crashed at the Salgareda airshow in 1990 due to pulling a loop at too low an altitude. The pilot, Rimas A.A. Stankevičius and a spectator were killed.
  • 12 December 1995: two Su-27s and an Su-27UB of the Russian flight demonstration team Russian Knights were lost, crashing into foggy, hilly terrain outside of Cam Ranh, Vietnam, killing 4 team pilots. The team of six Su-27s and an Ilyushin Il-76 support aircraft were en route home from an airshow in Malaysia, with a stop at Cam Ranh for fuel, led by the Il-76 and flying echelon right and left to it. After being vectored for approach, the lead Il-76 took a wrong course too close to terrain, which the three right-echelon Su-27s impacted. The remaining aircraft landed safely at Cam Ranh. Cause of accident was controlled flight into terrain; contributing factors were pilot error, mountainous terrain and poor weather.
  • December 1998: An Ethiopian Su-27 crashed during a night-flying exercise, killing a pilot.
  • 6 January 1999: An Ethiopian Air Force Su-27, piloted by a Russian pilot, crashed during test flights. The pilot ejected safely.
  • 27 July 2002: A Ukrainian Su-27 crashed while performing an aerobatics presentation. It crashed into the crowd and an Il-76 on static display, killing 85 spectators. Both pilots ejected and suffered only minor injuries.
  • 15 September 2005: A Russian Air Force Su-27P crashed in Lithuania after it strayed out of its air corridor while it was flying from St Petersburg to Russia's Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad due to a mechanical failure. The Su-27 was armed with at least 4 air-to-air missiles. The pilot ejected and was taken in Lithuanian custody. The incident led to an international debate between Lithuania, Russia and NATO.
  • 29 July 2008: an Su-27UB crashed on a training flight in Primorye Territory, Russia. 1 pilot was killed but the other survived.
  • 16 August 2009: While practising for an airshow, two Su-27s of the Russian Knights collided in mid-air during a test flight 5 km from Zhukovsky Airfield, south-east of Moscow, killing the Knights' leader, Igor Tkachenko. One of the jets crashed into a house and started a fire. This resulted in injuries to five people on the ground. The pilots were training for the 2009 MAKS Airshow. A probe into the crash has been launched; it is thought the accident may have been caused by a "flying skill error", according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
  • 30 August 2009: A Belarus Air Force Su-27UBM crashed at the 2009 Radom Air Show in Poland. The Su-27 crashed after exiting a loop, possibly due to an engine failure from a bird strike. Both pilots died after opting to stay with the aircraft to steer it away from spectators.
  • 6 April 2011: A Russian Air Force Su-27SM crashed during a training drill near the city of Vladivostok in Russia's Far East. The pilot ejected unhurt.
  • 28 June 2012: A Russian Air Force Su-27UB crashed in Karelia, Russia. Both pilots ejected unhurt.

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