Ukraine loses first F‑16 jet; pilot error suspected
Ukraine lost the first F-16 fighter jet delivered by the West; the aircraft crashed in an accident on Monday, reported "The Wall Street Journal" on Thursday.
"An official said that the incident was not caused by enemy fire and was likely the result of pilot error."
According to the official, the crash does not appear to have resulted from a Russian fire. It is still unknown what caused the incident—whether pilot error or mechanical failure—wrote Reuters.
Russia conducted a "massive" missile and drone attack on Ukraine on Monday, said the commander of the Ukrainian Air Force. This was followed by another major attack on Tuesday.
The Ukrainian Air Force has not yet commented on these reports. President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that F-16 jets were used to repel the Monday attack and showed good results.
Zelensky announced on August 5 that Ukraine had started flying F-16s for operations within the country, confirming that the waiting period for the aircraft had ended.
Death of the F-16 pilot
As a result of the loss of the fighter jet, Ukrainian Lieutenant Colonel Oleksii "Moonfish" Mes is likely to have lost his life. It is known that he was training to fly Western aircraft.
The 31-year-old Mes was part of a select group of only six Ukrainian pilots who completed an intensive training program to operate F-16 fighters.
