Jail Awaits

A military court in the Ukraine sentenced the Su-27 pilots whose plane crashed into a crowd in 2002 to hard prison time. The accident killed 77 people, including more than two dozen children.

The accident occurred on July 27, 2002 in near Lviv in the western Ukraine. The pilots managed to eject and survive the disaster.

The court in Lviv found the two pilots and three other military officials guilty of failing to fulfill orders, negligence, and violation of flight rules according to Reuters.

The investigating commission determined that the pilots had attempted a risky move too close to the ground. The also determined that commanders and show organizers had done a poor job at preparing and ensuring the safety of the spectators.

The court sentenced Pilot Volodymyr Toponar to 14 years in prison, and his co-pilot Yuriy Yegorov to eight years.

Toponar was ordered to pay 7.2 million hryvna ($1.42 million) to compensate victims of the crash. Yegorov must pay 2.5 million hryvna according to Interfax.

Anatoliy Tretyakov, the commander of the 14th air unit, and the deputy flight commander, Yuriy Yatsyuk, were sentenced to six years and ordered to pay 700,000 hryvnyas each.

Anatoliy Lukinykh, the head of the flight safety of the 14th air unit, was issued a four-year suspended sentence and ordered to pay 200,000 hryvnyas.

Toponar had denied responsibility for the deaths, according to Interfax. He claimed that technical problems and a faulty flight plan caused the crash. He said that he would appeal his sentence to Ukraine's supreme court.

FMI: www.vps.vinnitsa.com