The pilot of the group "Russian Knights" Sergei Eremenko, whose plane crashed today in the Moscow region, did everything to take the car away from residential buildings. But there was not enough time for the bailout. These are the preliminary findings of the investigators working at the crash site.
Here it is - the very performance of the aerobatic team "Russian Knights" in the sky over the village of Ashukino near Moscow. A monument to the aviators of Russia was unveiled there today - an airplane standing on a pedestal. It can be seen how six Su-27 fighters, lined up in a pyramid, overcome difficult weather conditions - the link now and then disappears into thunderclouds, and in the next frame - already a black column of smoke from the explosion. Just a few seconds passed from the end of the flight program, the Vityaz were returning to the base in Kubinka.
This is the very place of the disaster - the fighter fell in a forest belt, not far from residential buildings. Judging by the direction of the burning clearing, the pilot at the last moment directed the car away from the village of Muranovo.
"The pilot of the Su-27 took all possible steps to divert the emergency vehicle away from the settlement. The pilot did not have time to eject," the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
The flight commander, Guard Major Sergei Eremenko was at the helm. An extra-class pilot. He began his career as a military pilot in the 31st Fighter Aviation Regiment. Yak-52, L-39, MiG-29, Su-27 - flew a total of eight hundred hours. Since 2010 - in Kubinka, first in the aerobatic team "Swifts", then moved to the "Russian Knights".
He talks about the details of the next air show. There were hundreds of them in the history of the "Russian Knights" - including the most important ones; they flew over Red Square at the Victory Parade - and Sergey Eremenko took part in the majority.
The knights' aircraft painted in the colors of the Russian tricolor are recognized at any airfield in the world - they are the only aerobatic team flying on heavy fighters. In the unique figure "Cuban Ruby" - by the way, it was demonstrated on May 9 - there are nine supersonic machines in the air at the same time. But only the most experienced pilots in the country participate in these impressive performances. One of them, pilot of the first class Sergei Eremenko, "Russian Knights" today lost. This is his last interview - May 2016. "Each person should have a purpose in life. And they should be new, new and new," he said.
Sergei Eremenko is survived by a wife and two children. He was 34 years old.
A month before his death, the pilot gave an interview to TASS for the special project "Always on top", dedicated to aerobatic teams
On June 9, a Su-27 fighter crashed in the Moscow region after performing a demonstration flight. The pilot of the Russian Knights air group, Major Sergei Eremenko, took the car away from the village and saved the civilians at the cost of his life. He was 34 years old.
A month before his death, the pilot gave an interview to a TASS correspondent, in which he talked about the features of aerobatics, about his work and life in the sky. We publish excerpts from his comments for the "Always on top" special project dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the Strizhi and Russian Knights air groups.
About the sky
We are sick of the sky, each of us
- When you don't fly on vacation for a long time, the sky starts dreaming anyway. You seem to think that you are tired of work, but a week or two passes, and again you want to take control of the plane. Still, we can say that we are sick with the sky, each of us.
Real peak
- Go to this all my life, come and quit? Of course not. I think this is the dream of any pilot. A real peak.
About pilots
The pilot is an ordinary person
- A pilot is an ordinary person, just the requirements for him are more stringent. When you just start to fly aerobatics, the effect of overload is unusual. It takes a while to get comfortable. However, everything then becomes a habit.
About aerobatics
Difficulty pulling your hand off your knee
- In a single flight, the overload can reach 9 g (units), which means that a person is pressed by a weight nine times more than his own weight. Group aerobatics usually does not exceed 6 units of overload. At the same time, even with an overload of three units, it is already difficult to tear the hand off the knee.
The main thing is not to go into a tailspin
- Almost all figures are performed with overloads. Perhaps, the most difficult to perform are the "Bell" and the passage at the minimum speed (200 km / h). It is necessary to support the plane, not to let it collapse and not go into a tailspin. With such discomfort, pilots must maintain their place in the ranks, think with lightning speed and respond to various deviations, listen to the leader's commands.
About figures
"Barrel" is performed by all pilots
- Let's take the "Barrel" figure as an example (rotation of the plane around the longitudinal axis by 360 degrees). If it is single, then this is the basic figure performed by all pilots. If the group is already difficult, only aerobatics do it.
In battle, the "Barrel" gives the pilot the opportunity to get away from the enemy missile
- When the "Barrel" is made by an air group, the main meaning and skill is in the synchronous execution of this figure, simultaneously begun and completed, in the precise maintenance of its place in the formation and the position of aircraft in space. A single "Barrel" in battle gives the pilot the opportunity to suddenly change his spatial position, to get away from the enemy's missile.
About airplanes
"Microscopic" nuances
- Of course, there is no global difference between the planes, but "microscopic" nuances, of course, will always be found. On one plane, the engines work a little differently, you sit in the other - both go to power in the same way. And of course, the pilot who flew at the helm of a single car will tell you everything about the tiny differences in its control.
There will be many more possibilities
- The Su-30 is completely different from the Su-27 - both in piloting and in engine control. It's all about electronics. To some extent, it is a little more difficult for group aerobatics. When they come to our unit, we will have to fly around them in pairs, gradually get used to control, piloting as part of a group. There will be many more possibilities in solo aerobatics, it will be much more colorful and varied. There you can perform such figures for which names have not yet been invented.
