In an interview with the Ukranian news agency and reported in English by the British publication The Guardian, Volodymyr Toponar, the pilot of the Su-27 "Flanker" that crashed into the crowd at a July airshow doesn't think he and fellow pilot Yuriy Yegrov should be held to blame.

He said, "At the decisive moment, the plane became uncontrollable. It was completely unexpected. I fought the plane up to the last second, to spare as many people as possible and only thanks to Yegrov did we save our own lives." The video shows the two pilots' ejecting just an instant before the big flighter caught terra firma. There was absolutely no time left over, for the two.

The plane fell into the crowd; 85 so far have died, either in the wreck itself, or in its aftermath. There were over 100 initially listed in critical condition. The pilots remain hospitalized as a result of their ejection; they are in stable condition, and their doctors said they could talk with the press.

The Lviv airshow accident is the worst airshow accident in the world, for at least a decade. Such accidents are rare; and in the US and many other countries, the circumstances for this type accident do not exist, because of the way the action in the air is oriented, vis a vis the crowd. What could have been a similar accident in April, at the Point Mugu (CA) airshow, sacrificed "only" the pilots (whose ejection systems did not work properly).

The fingers of blame are busily being pointed in Ukraine, of course. Depending on the report, some are saying the pilots modified the routine to demonstrate an unapproved -- even, some said, "unpracticed" -- maneuver; others blame the Air Force for not calling the demonstration off, when it became apparent the routine wasn't going by the book, and/or for ordering flight over the population, presumably for maximum crowd thrill; still others say the pilots should have recovered in a different way; and a few are blaming the aircraft.

A military court has ordered jailed one Yuriy Yatsuk, the act's ground controller. The Commander General of the Air Force and another Air Force officer with the rank of Commander are under the military's investigation, setting the stage for possible charges of criminal negligence.

The Air Force Commander General, Col. Volodymyr Strelnikov, was immediately fired by the President, Leonid Kuchma, as word of the disaster became known. The Defense Minister also offered his resignation; but it was refused.

FMI: www.airforce-technology.com/projects/su27