"Criminal negligence" by pilots and military officials caused the world's worst air show disaster, according to the prosecutor general of the Ukraine.
A low-flying Russian-made Sukhoi Su-27 jet crashed into a crowd of air show spectators on Saturday, killing 83 people and wounding more than 100.
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Ukrainian Prosecutor-General Svyatoslav Pyskun at a news conference on preliminary investigation results of Saturday's airshow crash in western Ukraine.
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In the capital Kiev, the Ukrainian prosecutor general Svyatoslav Pyskun said: "Many things point to criminal negligence by (military) officials".
He added "there are also signs of criminal acts committed by the pilots." Gen Pyskun said the organizers of the air show were guilty of "extremely serious violations of security rules," explaining that the pilots were flying too low above spectators.
President Leonid Kuchma's administration has arrested the air force chief and three other senior air force officials. He also sacked the armed forces chief, while the defence minister offered to resign.
The jet pilots and air force top brass now face possible criminal charges in relation to the incident.
The pilots, who survived, said from their hospital beds that the jet was overloaded with fuel.
Today has been declared a national day of mourning in the ex-Soviet republic, with some 1,500 Ukrainians congregating at the disaster site at the Sknlyiv airfield in western Ukraine. A memorial service was held in the open air.
AFP