Although probably best known internationally because of the dramatic television pictures, the Ramstein air disaster in 1988 – contrary to popular belief – was not the worst disaster of its kind. It happened 14 years later at an airshow in western Ukraine and is still largely unknown today, as the renowned Austrian author and aviation photographer aviation photographer Patrick Huber in his latest book.
On July 27, 2002, the world’s worst airshow accident to date occurred at Sknyliv Airport near Lviv (now known as “Lviv Danylo Halytskyi International Airport”). A Sukhoi Su-27, piloted by an experienced display pilot from the national aerobatic team “Ukrainian Falcons”, went out of control due to a flight error by the pilot and crashed into the middle of the audience. The devastating result of this day: 77 people died and entire families were wiped out. 543 airshow visitors suffered injuries, some of them life-threatening. Among the dead were 28 children. An unknown number of airshow visitors have also been struggling with psychological problems ever since. The pilot and his co-pilot survived thanks to the ejection seats.
The total number of victims of the Lviv air disaster exceeds even that of the Ramstein air show disaster in 1988. Despite this, the Lviv disaster is still largely unknown outside Ukraine. This book aims to change that and therefore sheds light on the history of this national Ukrainian tragedy down to the smallest detail. The author shows what chain of unfortunate circumstances led to this accident, what consequences were drawn from it in Ukraine and describes the suffering of those affected. The title “The Lviv air disaster – a forgotten Ukrainian tragedy” has been published as a paperback (96 pages) by the German publisher Epubli and is available now under ISBN: 978-3-758413-37-7. About the author
Patrick Huber has been a national and international journalist for around 30 years and is one of Austria’s most prominent aviation photographers and aviation experts. He is the author of several specialist books on civil and military topics, including “When death fell from the sky – the Ramstein air disaster” (ISBN: 978-3-99152-447-2). His book about the disaster in Ramstein, Germany, in 1988 is considered a standard work on the subject by experts.
