A military court in Ukraine has jailed two pilots whose plane ploughed into the crowd at an airshow near Lviv in 2002, killing 77 people.
The jet's pilot, Volodymyr Toponar, and his co-pilot Yury Yegorov, who both ejected and survived, were sentenced to 14 years and eight years respectively.
Toponar was found guilty of negligence and violating flight rules.
Two of his senior military officials and a flight security official were also jailed.
Seventy-seven people - including 23 children - died and nearly 300 were wounded at the show in western Ukraine when the Su-27 jet cart-wheeled into the crowds in a ball of flame after a manoeuvre went wrong.
An inquiry into the accident found that the crash happened because the pilots had tried to pull off a risky manoeuvre at a low altitude. Officials in charge were blamed for failing to stop the flight in time and secure a sufficient security zone.
According to AP, Toponar said that he did not blame himself for the deaths. He claimed technical problems and a faulty flight plan were to blame.
As well as the jail term, he was ordered to pay 7.2m hryvnas ($1.4m; £768,000) and Yegorov must pay 2.46m hryvnas ($500,000; £274,000) towards the government compensation for victims.

I spotted it just after I'd posted Time for a coffee methinks

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Apparently not....

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From what I've read this was a free informal air show & the crowd were allowed on both sides of the runway. Bear in mind that this took place in the Ukraine in 2002. Most Eastern European countries did not follow the strict public safety measures adopted in the west. For all I know they still don't. Ozzy might be able to elaborate on that.

PS. I believe that air displays were banned in the Ukraine following this incident. Everyone in sight was immediately fired including the chief of the Air Force. Not so long ago they would have been sent to Siberia never to be seen again. I don't understand why it took 3 years to resolve this matter.

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Obviously not. Its not just a big deal in the US either, but all over the western world, considering that legislation really emerged after the 1988 Frecce Tricolorri crash at Ramstein.

There is a certain element of risk to any flying display. I can remember this being pointed out on every ticket in big letters. The same with motor racing events.

However many regulations they make regarding crowd safety something unexpected can & probably will go wrong. Fortunately the last tragedy I remember involving fatalities to members of the public in the UK was when the DH 110 broke up in flight at Farnborough in 1952*. Imagine the public outcry if something like that ever happened again.

I've noticed the aircraft getting further & further away from the crowd at many displays in recent years. You will soon need binoculars to see them.

*PS. This was caused by structural failure of a prototype aircraft. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/6/newsid_2981000/2981... John Derry was one of the most experienced test pilots in the world. The Derry Turn named after him is now a standard manoeuvre for display pilots.