Ukrainian f‑16 downed, pilot dead - investigation underway
The General Staff of Ukraine confirmed on Thursday evening the loss of an F-16 plane and the death of the pilot. American media were the first to report on the matter. The cause of the crash is still unknown.
The General Staff reported that F-16 planes were used during the missile attack by Russia. The massive Russian missile and drone attack on Ukraine took place on Monday.
"During the aerial battle, F-16s showed their high effectiveness by shooting down four enemy cruise missiles using onboard weapons. During the approach to another target, one of the planes lost contact with the others. As it later turned out, the plane crashed, and its pilot was killed," the General Staff reported on social media.
The statement informed that a special commission from the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine has been appointed to investigate the causes of the crash and is already working at the scene.
Earlier, the command of the Ukrainian Air Force "West" reported that in the plane crash, which took place on Monday, 26 August, pilot Oleksiy Mes was killed. His funeral took place on Thursday. The command did not specify the type of aircraft that crashed.
F-16 lost. Pilot dead
As first reported by the "Wall Street Journal," Ukraine lost its first Western-supplied F-16. An anonymous American official quoted by the newspaper said there is no indication that the incident was caused by enemy fire and was probably the result of pilot error.
The Interfax-Ukraine agency, discussing the "Wall Street Journal" information, emphasised that one of the six planes that the country received initially crashed. It also mentioned that Ukraine has six pilots fully trained to operate these machines.
The first F-16s arrived in Ukraine on 31 July. Authorities in Kyiv did not disclose how many planes they received in the first batch. A coalition composed of Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, and Belgium has committed to delivering approximately 60 aircraft.
