Ukraine airshow disaster

The aircraft, flown by two experienced pilots, was reported to have lost power before clipping trees, at which point the pilots ejected. The plane hit a stationary aircraft and burst into flames, then slid into the crowd.

Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma[?] publicly blamed the military for the disaster and sacked the head of the air force, Volodymyr Strelnykov. The defence minister, Volodymyr Shkidchenko resigned. The Interfax news agency reported, from a Sukhoi source, that "after the Soviet Union's breakup, planes have been operated with serious technical violations in Ukraine. Given its current financial problems, Ukraine has nearly stopped buying spare parts".