Accident Yak-52 in Nizhny Tagil

May 9, 1993 at the Theater Square in Nizhny Tagil held celebrations dedicated to Victory Day. At about 12:00, demonstration flights began on three Yak-52 aircraft of the Nizhny Tagil Aviation Sports Club. The flight was agreed only over the territory of the pond at an altitude of not lower than 200 meters ^[1] . But the head of the Nizhny Tagil Aviation Sports Club, having violated the flight rules, independently transferred the festive flight program to Theater Square and reduced the planned flight altitude to 100 meters, but in fact the pilots flew at an altitude of 40-60 meters.

After performing group tricks, individual performances began. The third in a row was the Yak-52 with tail number 135 red: it flew over the square and had to go over the central platform. The aircraft was controlled by 32-year-old pilot instructor of the Nizhny Tagil Aviation Sports Club Alexander Leonidovich Danilov ^[2] , the second pilot was R. Kandybaev.

Board 135 red was about to complete a barrel that was not planned in the mission. As a result, the plane touched the tops of the trees, lost speed and crashed into the square. After hitting the bridge, the Yak-52 swept across the earth through a crowd of people watching the flight. Firefighters immediately arrived at the crash site, who poured water on the burning plane.

At the scene of the accident, both crew members of the Yak-52 and 17 spectators died (among them there were 8 children) ^[3] . Dozens more were injured, 17 of them were seriously injured.

The Commission concluded that the official cause of the crash was the lack of discipline of the pilot, which resulted in a violation of the mission, a decrease in altitude less than safe and unsatisfactory flight guidance ^[4] . But there are a number of other versions about the cause of the tragedy, such as a technical malfunction or a collision with a bird.

The trial of the disaster in Theater Square took place in 1994. The head of the Nizhny Tagil Aviation Club Fyodor Bushma was found guilty, who served only 2 months as the head of the air sports club. He was sentenced to 6 years in a colony settlement ^[3] . After prison, he returned to the aviation sports club as an instructor ^[1] .

• Russian President Boris Yeltsin expressed his condolences in a telegram. The administration paid compensation to the families of the victims in the amount of 100,000 rubles. Many of the victims remained disabled, and compensation was also paid to them.
• By the decree of the mayor, the days from May 11 to 13 in Nizhny Tagil were declared the day of mourning .
• A year after the disaster, a monument to the dead was erected at the crash site of Yak-52. In 2017, it was restored ^[5] .

On the same day in Saransk, during a demonstration flight over the central square, a Mi-2 helicopter crashed, scattering congratulatory leaflets. He snagged on a cable pulled between the buildings, collided with the wall of the house, and collapsed. Of the five people on board, two were killed, the rest were taken to hospital in a serious condition. On earth, no one was hurt ^[6] .