List of Air Show Accidents and Incidents - 2002

2002

• November 10 – Celebrate Freedom Festival Airshow (Columbia, South Carolina) – Pilot Joe Tobul was killed when his F4U-4 Corsair lost power and crashed in a field. At the time of the crash, the plane was part of a flyover formation.
• October 2 – Dabolim Naval Air Base, Goa, India. During the squadron Silver Jubilee Celebrations, two Indian Navy IL-38, IN302 and IN304 collided in mid-air while flying in formation, killing all twelve occupants on board the two aircraft (six on each). The planes were flying parallel to each other in close formation in front of many naval high-ranking officials and their families when their wings touched.
• August 2 – Lowestoft Seafront Air Festival (Lowestoft, Suffolk, England) – Flight Lieutenant Tony Cann safely ejected from the Harrier GR7 he was piloting after an engine failure. He was performing a 'bow' maneuver at an approximate altitude of 50 feet over the sea at the time of the accident.
• July 27 – Sknyliv airshow disaster (Sknyliv Airfield Lviv, Ukraine) – Pilot Volodymyr Toponar and co-pilot Yuriy Yegorov of the Ukrainian Air Force demonstration team the Ukrainian Falcons ejected from their Sukhoi Su-27 after the left wing struck the ground during a low altitude roll maneuver. The aircraft then struck a parked Ilyushin Il-76 transport and cartwheeled into a crowd of spectators killing 77, including 19 children and injuring over 500.
• July 21 – Charity Airshow for Thames Valley Air Ambulance (Berkshire, England) – A pilot was injured when his de Havilland Tiger Moth biplane lost altitude rapidly and crash-landed, throwing the 55 year old pilot clear of the wreckage.
• July 20 – Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) airshow (Fairford, Gloucestershire, England) – An Italian Aeritalia G.222 transport made a hard landing which collapsed the nose landing gear. A small fire erupted but was quickly extingushed. No injuries were reported.
• April 20 – Point Mugu air show (Point Mugu, California) – Navy pilot Commander Michael Norman and radar intercept officer Marine Corps Captain Andrew Muhs were killed when their McDonnell-Douglas QF-4S+ Phantom II stalled and crashed after pulling away from a diamond formation. The Navy report stated in part: "The cause of this tragic accident was the failure of the pilot to manage the energy state of the aircraft, and then to recognize a departure from controlled flight at low altitude, and apply the NATOPS recovery techniques."