Igor Tkachenko

Igor Tkachenko
Born	(1964-07-26)July 26, 1964
Died	August 16, 2009(2009-08-16) (aged 45)
Place of birth	Venzy Krasnodar Krai, Soviet Union
Place of death	Moscow Oblast, Russia
Allegiance	Soviet Union until 1992 Russian Federation
Service/branch	Soviet Air Force until 1992 Russian Air Force
Years of service	1964 - 2009
Rank	Guards units Colonel
Awards	Honored military pilot of Russian Federation

Russian Knights salute in memory of Igor Tkachenko, leader of the group, who tragically died during practice a week earlier.

Igor Valentinovitch Tkachenko (Russian: И́горь Валенти́нович Ткаче́нко, July 26, 1964 — August 16, 2009) was a Russian military pilot with the rank of Colonel, Russian Knights group leader, Kubinka Airbase Chief of the 237th Guards Aviation Showing Center of the Russian Air Force. He was killed in a mid-air collision whilst practicing for the 2009 MAKS Airshow.

Commands

• Commander of the 237-th Aviation Technology Demonstration Center of the Russian Federation's AF
• Coomander of the Russian Knights