Pilot.
Igor Tkachenko was born on July 26, 1964 in the village of Ventsy-Zarya, Krasnodar Territory.
In 1985 he graduated from the Borisoglebsk Higher Military Aviation School named after. V.P. Chkalov, in 2000 - Air Force Academy named after. Yu. A. Gagarin.
He served as an instructor pilot in the Borisoglebsky VVAUL, and since 1987 he served at the Cuban air base. During his service, he mastered the L-29, MiG-21, MiG-29, Su-27, Su-35 aircraft. He has flown 2,300 hours on these types of aircraft. Tkachenko flew on foreign-made aircraft: Mirage 2000, F-16. He has been involved in aerobatics since 1989. Lead and solo pilot of the Russian Knights aerobatic team. He was married and raised a son and daughter.
Igor Tkachenko - commander of the Russian Knights group, head of the 237th Guards Aviation Equipment Display Center of the Russian Air Force, Honored Military Pilot of the Russian Federation, military sniper pilot, guard colonel.
TV viewers heard his voice during the Victory Parade on the Red Square. During the flight of MIG-29 and SU-27 aircraft of the Russian Knights and Swifts aerobatic teams over Red Square on May 9, Honored Military Pilot of the Russian Guard Colonel Igor Tkachenko managed to congratulate the veterans right in the air.
An honored military pilot of Russia, Tkachenko had extensive flight experience. Such people take risks consciously, expanding the capabilities of humans and global aviation. Many aerobatic maneuvers that the Russian Knights perform today cannot be repeated anywhere in the world.
During the Victory Parade, Igor Tkachenko congratulated the Russians from the cockpit of a fighter plane, flying over Red Square. This is how many will remember him - calm, cheerful, self-confident, an ace pilot.
Igor Tkachenko gave an interview to Vesti immediately after the Victory Parade. The planes had just landed in Kubinka, near Moscow. The head of the Kozhedub Aviation Equipment Display Center, Igor Tkachenko, shares his impressions: “First impressions - finally, the Parade is over! Everything was a success! The weather didn’t let us down, the equipment didn’t let us down, the personnel didn’t let us down. What was taught was what was shown.”
And on August 16, 2009, two Su-27 fighters of the Russian Knights aerobatic team collided in the area of the Ramenskoye airfield. The group commander, Igor Tkachenko, died. Two more pilots survived, but one was seriously injured. There are also casualties among local residents. Several houses were destroyed and burned. The collision occurred during preparations for the International Aviation and Space Salon MAKS.
“A pair of Su-27s crashed during aerobatics on parallel courses,” says one of the eyewitnesses of the emergency. “During the collision, there was an orange flash, and then a cloud of black smoke appeared. When the cloud cleared, one of the planes went down in a tailspin.”
Hundreds of people from the ground watched the Su-27 training of the Russian Knights aerobatic team before their performance at the MAKS air show. The tragedy unfolded literally before their eyes.
“They walked opposite each other, and one crashed into the other’s tail,” adds a local resident. “The tail caught fire, and it was already clear that this plane had no choice.”
According to one version, the picture of what happened could look like this: while entering the circle to change lanes, one of the trailing aircraft fell behind the leading aircraft and caught up with it at great speed. Keeping pace, he approached the commander at a distance of one and a half to two meters, and, without calculating, crashed into him.
A plane with a broken tail literally fell like a stone directly onto one of the houses in the holiday village of Sosny. The debris was scattered over a radius of hundreds of meters. Somewhere there are casing parts, somewhere there are engine parts. The aviation fuel exploded instantly. Houses caught fire.
In the general chaos, someone was looking for their relatives. Those who were close to the crash site tried to run away. Several people received burns. “Three victims were brought to us, one with minor burns - up to 5% of the body, these are first-second degree burns. And two - with burns of 15-20% of the body. One of the victims is now in intensive care,” said Igor Sundukov, deputy chief physician of the central Ramenskoye hospital.
In the toxic smoke of burning fuel, people saved what they could. In the village of Sosny, three houses and one car were completely burned down. A few minutes after the fall, first fighter jets appeared in the sky, and then helicopters from the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
About 10 minutes later the first rescue and military vehicles entered the village. First, of course, they were looking for three pilots who managed to eject. “I saw him landing there in the forest - a pilot,” says one of the local residents. “He was hanging alone on a tree near the store.”
The second Su-27, the one that damaged the wing, crashed a few kilometers from the first. The pilot, most likely, managed to steer the car away from residential buildings, and the plane fell into a field, so there was no strong fire or casualties on the ground.
Before the collision, the pilots commented on the maneuvers: both fighters had no technical problems.
The chronicle of the SU-27 disaster is reflected on the radio - the last negotiations between the members of the Vityazi aerobatic team and commander Igor Tkachenko are interrupted by a 35-second pause.
The commander’s confident voice clearly gives orders: “Let’s go left, let’s continue.” At this moment, in the air, heavy aircraft, like obedient swallows, line up in even figures. All this happens at great speed.
At approximately 13.02 Moscow time the following happens on air:
"...2-41 is observed on the right...". "Smoothly turn 1200." "Got it, I'm watching." "Let's move on to... fifth...". "3800" ...
Judging by this command, the pilots finish the maneuver and disperse, reforming to perform a new figure.
Suddenly, amid the measured development of the ether, beeps and squeaks are heard, and silence sets in... the pause lasts about 35 seconds. It turns out that the voice of the honored Russian pilot Igor Tkachenko is heard for the last time... This is not on this recording, but the radio interception caught the voice of another pilot: “Smoke from the engine, jump!”
Further on, on the radio wave on which negotiations were held for the training of pilots preparing for the MAKS air show, the voices of the flight directors appear. A decision is immediately made to take the helicopter into the air. It was reported that a parachute canopy was visible above the crash site:
"Switch off the engines!" "2-44th. Mark the mark, I'm watching the parachute." "2-44 - 900 meters above the impact point." “I understand you, I’m raising the helicopter. It fell into an open field. Saxophone-control, saxophone-control, 75-243. Have you recorded the coordinates?”
It becomes clear that two aircraft crashed - 2-42 and 2-41. These names appear in the negotiations:
"2-41? 2-41 ejected, saw the dome. 2-44 I allow."
The “fifth” does not respond to the roll call on air:
"Fifth, answer the sixth. Third. Second. Fourth. Fourth answer the sixth... Fifth, where? Lost. I didn’t see him. Doesn’t answer. Collision with him? Yes. Got it. I answer: 2-44. That’s right. Observed 2-41. 2-42 had a fire.
From the fire I observed the ejection of the 2-42nd. 2-43 observed the ejection of 2-42, board 14 was there. The dome was watching."
The situation during the negotiations is heating up. It becomes clear that the disaster could turn into a serious tragedy.
"I'm standing over the crash site of the 2-41st. The fourth responded to the sixth. I observed the fall of the 14th side. It fell in the field. Didn't damage anything. Yes, I understand. The dome also watched it. Why are you misleading? F**k. Not be nervous."
The Vityaz pilots prepared the most risky aerobatic maneuvers for the show. In particular, they practiced the “star”, “cover” and “mixed diamond”. These figures "Russian Knights" and "Swifts" were going to be shown at the air show. They worked on a new program, trying to bring it to complete automation.
When the planes diverged from formation, a catastrophe occurred - the trailing plane crashed into the leading one. For what reason this happened is still unclear. This may be a failure of the control system. Perhaps the pilots lost sight of each other for a moment and collided. When performing aerobatic maneuvers, the distance between planes ranges from one to five meters, and the speed is more than seven hundred kilometers per hour.
The commander of the Russian Knights aerobatic team, Igor Tkachenko, managed to eject, but died due to the parachute catching fire in the air. According to residents of a holiday village near Moscow in the Zhukovsky area, over which the accident occurred, the parachute of one of the ejected pilots caught fire while still in the air, since the falling fighter was on fire at that moment.
“He really was a maestro in his field - as a pilot, as a person,” says Vladimir Biryukov, Honored Test Pilot of the Russian Federation. — And today I flew on a Superjet plane. When I heard his voice, I greeted him - said: “Hello, maestro” (that’s what we called each other), and after 15 minutes he was gone.”
The cause of death of the commander of the Russian Knights aerobatic team Igor Tkachenko has been named
Text: Andrey Rezchikov
As a result of a collision between two Su-27 fighters during a training flight in Zhukovsky, the commander of the Russian Knights aerobatic team, Igor Tkachenko, was killed. According to experts, Tkachenko delayed the moment of ejection in order to divert the plane from the houses, so at the last moment he did not have enough altitude. Meanwhile, a source in the investigation team said that the commander of the Russian Knights managed to eject, but died due to the ignition of the parachute, which caught fire in the air from the plane engulfed in flames.
On Sunday, a rehearsal for demonstration flights of the MAKS-2009 air show took place on the territory of the M. N. Gromov Flight Research Institute. During the performance of the Russian Knights aerobatic team, an incident occurred. Two Su-27 fighters collided in the air.
According to preliminary information, the collision occurred due to a pilot error during an aerobatics maneuver. All three pilots were able to eject (one of the cars that collided in the air was a two-seater). A source in the Russian Ministry of Defense, on condition of anonymity, said that one of them died. It turned out to be the commander of the Russian Knights aerobatic team, Igor Tkachenko. Two other pilots, one of whom is named Viktor Shpak, are in the hospital; their health is not in danger.
Later, information about Tkachenko’s death was confirmed to the Vesti TV channel by Honored Test Pilot Anatoly Kvochur. According to him, Tkachenko’s death was due to the fact that he delayed making the decision to eject, trying to move the plane away from residential buildings.
“Most likely, he did not have enough height when ejecting. I think when he made the decision to eject, he had thoughts about where the plane would fall and whether it could be taken away from the buildings,” said Mr. Kvochur.
The test pilot added that if the pilot ejected at low altitude and the plane was spinning around its axis, then the likelihood of an unfavorable outcome increases significantly. He did not rule out that the pilot, after the plane collision, hoped to save the plane and land it. “You know what the current situation is with aviation technology in the Air Force. And a pilot like Tkachenko could not help but think about it,” suggested Anatoly Kvochur.
Meanwhile, a source taking part in the investigation of the disaster told RIA Novosti that Igor Tkachenko managed to eject, but died due to the ignition of the parachute, which caught fire in the air from the plane engulfed in flames.
“We interviewed witnesses and eyewitnesses of the incident. One of the residents of the holiday village over which the incident occurred clearly saw that the parachute of one of the ejected pilots caught fire while still in the air, since the fighter was on fire at that moment. Subsequently, it turned out that the dead pilot was Igor Tkachenko,” the source said.
He flew on foreign-made Mirage-2000 and F-16 aircraft. Has been involved in aerobatics since 1989. Lead and solo pilot of the Russian Knights aerobatic team. Married. He is survived by a son and daughter. He was interested in alternative medicine and cars.
“Russian Knights” is an aerobatics team of the Russian Air Force. Created on April 5, 1991 on the basis of the 237th Guards Proskurov Red Banner Order of Kutuzov and Alexander Nevsky Aviation Regiment from the best pilots of the Kubinka airbase near Moscow and other garrisons in Russia. It is part of the I. N. Kozhedub Aviation Equipment Display Center.
The group's pilots perform solo and group aerobatics consisting of four, five and six fourth-generation Su-27 fighters. The planes are painted in the colors of the Russian national flag. Each performance of the “Russian Knights” is considered the height of excellence. Abroad, it has been repeatedly emphasized that the “knights” can safely be called one of the best masters of their craft in the whole world.
In turn, the commission to investigate the causes of the collision between two Su-27 fighters is considering all possible causes of the incident. “Various versions cannot be ruled out, including a bird getting into the plane’s engine, as well as a piloting error,” a source close to the commission told Interfax. He noted that flying Su-27 heavy fighters in tight formation is an extremely difficult element of group aerobatics.
“Such piloting is also fraught with the risk of one or more aircraft getting caught in the air stream ahead of the flying aircraft. In this case, the aerodynamics of the flight are disrupted, and the plane may be thrown to the side,” the source added. According to him, the possibility of a technical malfunction during the flight cannot be ruled out. But it is “unlikely, since the aircraft of the Russian Knights aerobatic team undergo constant maintenance and their condition is monitored with special care.”
The latest incident in Zhukovsky is not the first incident with Russian Knights aircraft. On December 12, 1995, while landing to refuel at the Vietnamese Cam Ranh airfield, three fighters of this group collided with a mountain due to unsatisfactory organization of flights in difficult weather conditions. As a result, four pilots were killed.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Sunday expressed deep and sincere condolences to the family and friends of Igor Tkachenko in connection with his tragic death.
PLOT
Su-27 fighter crash over Zhukovsky
08/16/2009 Two fighters collided in the sky over Zhukovsky
08/16/2009 One of the Su-27s fell on a residential building of the Belozerikha gardening partnership
08/16/2009 The commander of the Russian Knights group, Igor Tkachenko, was killed in a Su-27 collision
During a training flight at the MAKS-2009 air show, two Su-27 aircraft from the Russian Knights aerobatic team collided. According to the Ministry of Defense, three pilots ejected. One of the pilots died. He turned out to be the commander of one of the best aerobatic teams in Russia, “Russian Knights,” Igor Tkachenko. One of the Su-27s fell on a gardening community, resulting in five people receiving varying degrees of burns. The air show organizers do not intend to postpone its opening date.08/16/2009 The cause of death of Igor Tkachenko has been revealed
According to experts, Tkachenko delayed the moment of ejection in order to divert the plane from the houses, so at the last moment he did not have enough altitude. Meanwhile, a source in the investigation team said that the commander of the Russian Knights managed to eject, but died due to the ignition of the parachute, which caught fire in the air from the plane engulfed in flames.Hero of the Russian Federation (2009, posthumously)
Order of Courage (2005)
Order of Military Merit
Medal "In memory of the 850th anniversary of Moscow"
Medal "70 years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
Medal "For Distinction in Military Service" (Ministry of Defense) 1st, 2nd and 3rd class
Honored Military Pilot of the Russian Federation
Honorary citizen of the city of Tynda (decision of the Tynda City Duma No. 35 of April 3, 2006)
Igor Tkachenko was born on July 26, 1964 in the village of Ventsy-Zarya, Krasnodar Territory.
In 1985, he graduated from the Borisoglebsk Higher Military Aviation School named after Valery Chkalov, and in 2000, from the Yuri Gagarin Air Force Academy.
He served as an instructor pilot at the Borisoglebsk VVAUL, and since 1987 he served at the Cuban air base. During his service, Tkachenko mastered the L-29, MiG-21, MiG-29, Su-27 and Su-35 aircraft, having flown 2,300 hours on these types of aircraft. Tkachenko flew on foreign-made aircraft - Mirage 2000 and F-16. Tkachenko has been involved in aerobatics since 1989, he was the leader and solo pilot of the Russian Knights aerobatic team. Igor Tkachenko was married and raised a son and daughter.
Igor Tkachenko was not only the commander of the Russian Knights group, he was also the head of the 237th Guards Aviation Equipment Display Center of the Russian Air Force, an honored military pilot of the Russian Federation, a military sniper pilot with the rank of guard colonel.
TV viewers heard his voice during the Victory Parade on Red Square. During the flight of MIG-29 and SU-27 aircraft of the Russian Knights and Swifts aerobatic teams over Red Square on May 9, Honored Military Pilot of the Russian Guard Colonel Igor Tkachenko congratulated the veterans right in the air.
Tkachenko had extensive flight experience. Such people take risks consciously, expanding the capabilities of humans and global aviation. Many aerobatic maneuvers that the Russian Knights perform today cannot be repeated anywhere in the world.
When, during the Victory Parade, Igor Tkachenko congratulated the Russians from the cockpit of a fighter, flying over Red Square, the audience remembered him as a calm, cheerful, self-confident ace pilot.
Igor Tkachenko gave an interview to Vesti immediately after the Victory Parade, after the planes landed in Kubinka near Moscow. The head of the Kozhedub Aviation Equipment Display Center, Igor Tkachenko, shared his impressions: “First impressions - finally, the Parade is over! Everything was a success! The weather didn’t let us down, the equipment didn’t let us down, the personnel didn’t let us down. What was taught was what was shown.”
On August 16, 2009, two Su-27 fighters of the Russian Knights aerobatic team collided in the air near the Ramenskoye airfield. During this incident, group commander Igor Tkachenko died. Two more pilots survived, but one was seriously injured. There were also casualties among local residents. Several houses were destroyed and burned down. The collision occurred during preparations for the International Aviation and Space Salon MAKS.
“A pair of Su-27s crashed during aerobatics on parallel courses,” said one of the eyewitnesses of the emergency. “During the collision, there was an orange flash, and then a cloud of black smoke appeared. When the cloud cleared, one of the planes went down in a tailspin.”
Hundreds of people from the ground watched the Su-27 training of the Russian Knights aerobatic team before their performance at the MAKS air show. The tragedy unfolded literally before their eyes.
“They walked opposite each other, and one crashed into the other’s tail,” adds a local resident. “The tail caught fire, and it was already clear that this plane had no choice.”
According to one version, the picture of what happened could look like this: while entering the circle to change lanes, one of the trailing aircraft fell behind the leading aircraft and caught up with it at great speed. Keeping pace, he approached the commander at a distance of one and a half to two meters, and, without calculating, crashed into him.
A plane with a broken tail literally fell like a stone directly onto one of the houses in the holiday village of Sosny. The debris was scattered over a radius of hundreds of meters. Somewhere there are casing parts, somewhere there are engine parts. The aviation fuel exploded instantly. Houses caught fire.
In the general chaos, someone was looking for their relatives. Those who were close to the crash site tried to run away. Several people received burns. “Three victims were brought to us, one with minor burns - up to 5% of the body, these are first- or second-degree burns. And two - with burns of 15-20% of the body. One of the victims is now in intensive care,” said Igor Sundukov, deputy chief physician of the central Ramenskoye hospital.
In the toxic smoke of burning fuel, people saved what they could. In the village of Sosny, three houses and one car were completely burned down. A few minutes after the fall, first fighter jets appeared in the sky, and then helicopters from the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
About 10 minutes later the first rescue and military vehicles entered the village. First, of course, they were looking for three pilots who managed to eject. “I saw him landing there in the forest - a pilot,” says one of the local residents. “He was hanging alone on a tree near the store.”
The second Su-27, the one that damaged the wing, crashed a few kilometers from the first. The pilot, most likely, managed to steer the car away from residential buildings, and the plane fell into a field, so there was no strong fire or casualties on the ground.
Before the collision, the pilots commented on the maneuvers: both fighters had no technical problems.
The chronicle of the SU-27 disaster is reflected on the radio - the last negotiations between the members of the Vityazi aerobatic team and commander Igor Tkachenko are interrupted by a 35-second pause.
The commander’s confident voice clearly gives orders: “Let’s go left, let’s continue.” At this moment, in the air, heavy aircraft, like obedient swallows, line up in even figures. All this happens at great speed.
At approximately 13.02 Moscow time the following happens on air:
"...2-41 is observed on the right...". “Smoothly turn 1200.” “Got it, I’m watching.” "Let's move on to... the fifth...". "3800"...
Judging by this command, the pilots finish the maneuver and disperse, reforming to perform a new figure.
Suddenly, amid the measured development of the ether, beeps and squeaks are heard, and silence sets in... the pause lasts about 35 seconds. It turns out that the voice of the honored pilot of Russia Igor Tkachenko is heard for the last time... This is not on this recording, but the radio interception caught the voice of another pilot: “Smoke from the engine, jump!”
Further on, on the radio wave on which negotiations were held for the training of pilots preparing for the MAKS air show, the voices of the flight directors appear. A decision is immediately made to take the helicopter into the air. It was reported that a parachute canopy was visible above the crash site:
“Switch off the engines!” “2-44th. Mark the mark, I’m watching the parachute.” "2-44 - 900 meters above the impact point." “I understand you, I’m raising the helicopter. Fell into an open field. Saxophone-control, saxophone-control, 75-243. Have you recorded the coordinates?"
It becomes clear that two aircraft crashed - 2-42 and 2-41. These names appear in the negotiations:
“2-41? 2-41 ejected, saw the dome. 2-44 I allow.”
The “fifth” does not respond to the roll call on air:
“Fifth, answer the sixth. Third. Second. Fourth. Fourth answer to sixth... Fifth, where? Lost. I did not see him. Doesn't answer. Collision with him? Yes. Understood. I answer: 2-44. Yes sir. Saw 2-41st. The 2-42nd had a fire.
From the fire I observed the ejection of the 2-42nd. 2-43 observed the ejection of 2-42, board 14 was there. The dome was watching."
The situation during the negotiations is heating up. It becomes clear that the disaster could turn into a serious tragedy.
“I’m standing over the crash site of 2-41. The fourth answered the sixth. I observed the fall of the 14th side. Fell into a field. Didn't damage anything. Yes, I understand. The dome was watching him too. Why are you misleading? Fuck. Do not be nervous".
The Vityaz pilots were preparing the most risky aerobatic maneuvers for the show. In particular, they practiced the “star”, “cover” and “mixed diamond”. These figures “Russian Knights” and “Swifts” were going to be shown at the air show. They worked on a new program, trying to bring it to complete automation.
When the planes diverged from formation, a catastrophe occurred - the trailing plane crashed into the leading one. For what reason this happened is still unclear. This may be a failure of the control system. Perhaps the pilots lost sight of each other for a moment and collided. When performing aerobatic maneuvers, the distance between planes ranges from one to five meters, and the speed is more than seven hundred kilometers per hour.
The commander of the Russian Knights aerobatic team, Igor Tkachenko, managed to eject, but died due to the parachute catching fire in the air. According to residents of a holiday village near Moscow in the Zhukovsky area, over which the accident occurred, the parachute of one of the ejected pilots caught fire while still in the air, since the falling fighter was on fire at that moment.
“He really was a maestro in his field - as a pilot, as a person,” says Vladimir Biryukov, Honored Test Pilot of the Russian Federation. — And today I flew on a Superjet plane. When I heard his voice, I greeted him - said: “Hello, maestro” (that’s what we called each other), and after 15 minutes he was gone.”
Text prepared by Andrey Goncharov
chtoby-pomnili.com
July 26, 1964 - August 16, 2009
Russian military pilot, leader of the Russian Knights aerobatic team, head of the 237th Guards Aviation Equipment Display Center of the Russian Air Force, Honored Military Pilot of the Russian Federation, Guard Colonel
Biography
Igor Tkachenko was born on July 26, 1964 in the village of Ventsy-Zarya, Krasnodar Territory. He moved to the capital of BAM with his parents. Graduated from school No. 7 in the city of Tynda. In 1985 he graduated from the Borisoglebsk Higher Military Aviation School named after. V.P. Chkalov, in 2000 - Air Force Academy named after. Yu. A. Gagarin.
He served as an instructor pilot in the Borisoglebsky VVAUL, and since 1987 he served at the Cuban air base. During his service, he mastered the L-29, MiG-21, MiG-29, Su-27, Su-35 aircraft. He has flown 2,300 hours on these types of aircraft. Tkachenko flew on foreign-made aircraft: Mirage 2000, F-16.
He has been involved in aerobatics since 1989. He has been a member of the Russian Knights aerobatic team since 1993, and became the group commander in May 2002.
The Russian Knights aerobatics team was created on April 5, 1991 from the best pilots of the Kubinka airbase, who perfectly mastered the Su-27. “Russian Knights” is one of the few aerobatic units in the world that performs group aerobatics on heavy fighter class aircraft. “Russian Knights” have more than once demonstrated a complex of aerobatic maneuvers, such as the Nesterov loop, “barrel”, afterburner turn, “fountain” and “scissors” flights, “bell”, aerobatics on oncoming courses, and an oblique loop in the “boom”.
Master of single and group aerobatics Igor Tkachenko performed complex maneuvers in the extreme conditions of the SU-27 fighter: “hill turns”, passes at speeds of less than 170 km/h. Lead and solo pilot of the Russian Knights aerobatic team.
He was interested in alternative medicine and cars.
Death
Igor Tkachenko died while performing a flight on August 16, 2009 during preparations for the MAKS-2009 air show of the Russian Knights and Swifts aerobatic teams. The Su-27UB aircraft, in which Igor Tkachenko and TsPAT senior navigator Igor Kurylenko were on board, collided with a Su-27 piloted by Vitaly Melnik.
As a result of the crash of Tkachenko’s plane and the subsequent fire on the ground, a resident of the village “Sosny-2” died, and 4 more people received burns.
All three pilots of both aircraft ejected. The reason why Igor Tkachenko died, despite the ejection, is not reliably known at the moment. According to some reports, Igor Tkachenko’s ejection system was damaged during a plane collision, and the parachute did not open; according to some eyewitnesses, the parachute caught fire in the air; according to specialists from the Zvezda Research and Production Enterprise, the ejected pilot may not have had enough altitude to open the parachute. According to another version, Tkachenko died on the plane as a result of the impact of a fighter that crashed into him, and the ejection system worked automatically or was activated by navigator Igor Kurylenko.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev expressed condolences to the family and friends of the commander of the Russian Knights aerobatic team Igor Tkachenko in connection with his tragic death.
Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov decided to nominate Igor Tkachenko for a posthumous state award “for courage and heroism.” Due to the death of the commander, the Russian Knights aerobatic team canceled its demonstration performances at the MAKS-2009 air show. Subsequently, the pilots of the Russian Knights team dedicated their flight at the closing of this air show to the memory of their commander.
He was buried on August 19, 2009 in the cemetery of the village of Nikolskoye, near the city of Kubinka, not far from the airfield parking lot of the Russian Knights.
Awards
- Knight of state orders and medals of the USSR and Russia:
- Hero of the Russian Federation (2009, posthumously)
- Order of Courage (2005)
- Order of Military Merit
- Medal "In memory of the 850th anniversary of Moscow"
- Medal "70 years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
- Medal "For Distinction in Military Service" (Ministry of Defense) 1st, 2nd and 3rd class
- Honored Military Pilot of the Russian Federation
- Honorary citizen of the city of Tynda (decision of the Tynda City Duma No. 35 of April 3, 2006)
Family
He was married and raised a son and daughter. Son Igor Igorevich Tkachenko graduated from the Armavir Pilot School and continues his father’s work.
Memory
On August 18, 2009, in memory of the deceased pilot, the MAKS-2009 air show began with a minute of silence. In briefings and conferences of aerobatic teams and the command of the Russian Air Force at the air show, the topic of the death of the pilot and the reasons for what happened was repeatedly raised. The Russian Knights aerobatic team took part in the air show - on August 23, the aerobatic program of the air show was closed by the passage of four Su-27s.
To entrust a person with driving a machine worth several million dollars, with a power of several thousand horsepower, it is not enough to train him diligently for several years: for this he must have not only physical strength, endurance and, in general, ideal health, but also colossal technical knowledge, the highest level of intelligence.
Igor Tkachenko: 3 months in the sky
Tkachenko was exactly like that. Improving his piloting skills and mastering new types of aircraft, he constantly strived to learn new things. He was born in 1964 in the village of Ventsy-Zarya, Krasnodar Territory. Soon, Igor’s parents left for the BAM construction site and took their son with them to Tynda. His childhood was spent far from airfields, but the boy was drawn to the sky: despite the fact that there were no people associated with aviation in the family, and most of his peers went to study to become builders and railway workers, Igor chose the Borisoglebsk Higher Military School named after. Chkalov, which he graduated in 1985. He served in Kubinka since 1987, and the formation of Russian aerobatic teams took place before his eyes. The best pilots became pilots of the first aerobatic teams in Russia. Among them was Igor Tkachenko.
Already a recognized 35-year-old pilot of the Russian Knights group, he received a second education at the Air Force Academy. Yu. A. Gagarin. His total flight time in jet fighters was 2,300 hours (3 months in the air). One of the few Russian pilots, Tkachenko flew on foreign Mirage 2000 and F-16 fighters. It was this vast experience, along with leadership qualities and universal respect, that allowed Tkachenko to become group commander in 2002.
The tragedy that occurred during preparation for aerobatics at MAKS 2009 is not the first in the history of the aerobatic team. On December 12, 1995, three Su-27s crashed during landing. Then Tkachenko was in the leading Il-76 as a passenger: his plane had problems with hydraulics, and perhaps this is what saved his life. Close people later saw this as a kind of “warning” to the pilot.
Fatal coincidence
During a training flight before the MAKS-2009 air show, the Su-27 UB fighter piloted by Igor Tkachenko And Igor Kurylenko, whose pilot was Vitaly Melnikov. All three pilots ejected, but... One of the planes fell on a holiday village, causing three houses to burn down and several people to be injured. The woman, who suffered burns to 80% of her body, died 2 days later in the hospital.
Disasters at air shows always cause a huge resonance in society, because the tragedy occurs in front of television cameras, in front of thousands of spectators. In addition, aerobatic teams are the face of the country’s aviation, and any incidents involving them are closely monitored. That is why, immediately after the tragedy, many versions of what happened appeared: the disaster was seen as a reflection of the state of the Russian Air Force.
They also recalled Tkachenko’s 2005 interview with Nezavisimoye Voennoye Obozreniye, in which he complained about the poor state of equipment: “We already have nothing to fly with. Of the two-seater aircraft equipped with a modern international-level navigation system, we still have three twin Su-27s at our disposal.<...>The aircraft that the Air Force gave us were developments abandoned in the middle of developmental modifications. They could not be sent to a combat unit and were sent to us. “I flew on this plane and I will not put a single pilot on it, because it is unsafe.”
Soon, the results of the investigation were made public, according to which Colonel Tkachenko himself was to blame for the collision, who, due to stress, incorrectly calculated the distance to the other plane, and a fatal coincidence of circumstances. The “Vityaz” had to change the program on the fly due to a malfunction of one of the aircraft, and before takeoff the fighters did not go through the entire pre-flight training cycle. In particular, the Su-27 engine regulators were not tested. In addition to everything, the Vityaz controller, who was supposed to monitor flights from the ground and prompt the pilots to act during aerobatic maneuvers, did not arrive on time at the airfield in Ramenskoye. It is also worth adding that group aerobatics in itself on Su-27 heavy combat fighters is a very difficult task: nowhere else in the world is there a single aerobatics team that would fly machines of this class.
Burnt parachute
If the investigation gave a final conclusion regarding the causes of the disaster, then the reasons why Tkachenko died, despite the ejection, are still being debated. According to one version, the ejection system was damaged during a plane collision; according to another, the parachute caught fire in the air; according to the third, the pilot died in the cockpit immediately after the collision. Test pilot Anatoly Kvochur suggested that Tkachenko could have tried to save the plane by landing it: “You know what the current situation is with aviation equipment in the Air Force. And a pilot like Tkachenko could not help but think about it,” the pilot suggested.
On August 18, the opening of the air show began with a minute of silence in honor of the deceased pilot. “Russian Knights” first canceled performances at the MAKS-2009 air show, but later, on August 23, the air show was closed by the passage of four Su-27s, which they dedicated to their deceased commander. The pilot was buried in the cemetery of the village of Nikolskoye, near the city of Kubinka, next to the airfield parking lot of the Russian Knights. Colonel's son Igor Igorevich Tkachenko He graduated from the Armavir Pilot School and continues his father’s work.