On 26 August, an F-16 aircraft crashed in Ukraine. The plane was one of several that Ukraine received from NATO countries during the summer. This was the first plane crash with one of these planes. Behind the controls sat 30-year-old Oleksii Mes, an experienced pilot in the Ukrainian Air Force. He died in the crash. Mes has previously worked as a pilot on MIG-29 fighters. This summer he received F-16 training in Denmark, and was one of the first Ukrainians to qualify to pilot F-16 aircraft. Several hundred people attended when Mes was buried in his home town of Shepetivka on Thursday. F-16 pilot Oleksii Mes was buried in the Ukrainian city of Shepetivka on Thursday. Photo: HANDOUT / AFP Perhaps pilot error According to the Ukrainian defence, the fighter jet was participating in an operation to prevent a large-scale Russian attack against several cities when the control tower lost contact with the aircraft. The cause of the plane crash is not yet known, but the incident is being investigated by Ukrainian and American experts. An American official, who wishes to remain anonymous, told the Wall Street Journal that the accident was probably due to the pilot making a mistake. Technical failure has also been mentioned as a possible cause. – May have mismaneuvered Ole Jørgen Maaø is an associate professor at the Norwegian Air Force School. He believes that the pilot may have made a misjudgment in a situation where he was following a Russian cruise missile or a drone. Ole Jørgen Maaø at the Norwegian Air Force School. Photo: Luftkrigsskolen – He may have maneuvered so that he lost control and flew into the ground. But Maaø emphasizes that this is just a guess. Sources in the Ukrainian defense have rejected the theory of pilot error. Now KyivPost reports that anonymous Ukrainian military sources claim the plane may have been hit by anti-aircraft missiles that Ukraine has received from the United States or other Western countries. They refer, among other things, to information the radio station “The Voice of America” has received. Other media have also reported this. It must be one of several theories, according to the sources. Two MIG-29 fighter jets flew at low altitude over Shepetivka during the funeral of F-16 pilot Oleksii Mes who died on 26 August. Photo: HANDOUT / AFP Received Patriot system After the Russian invasion, several NATO-allied countries have delivered Patriot systems and missiles to Ukraine. Patriot are anti-aircraft missiles that can be used against enemy aircraft and missiles. They can reach targets up to 100 kilometers away and up to 30,000 meters above the ground. The Ukrainian Air Force has not directly denied that the F-16 aircraft was hit by Patriot missiles, but indicates that the investigation is not yet complete. Anonymous American sources in the US tell the New York Times that the theory is improbable. Two F-16 aircraft in the air at an unknown location in Ukraine. On the tail fin you can see the Ukrainian coat of arms. Photo: Valentyn Ogirenko / Reuters Ole Jørgen Maaø is on the same line. – It may have happened, but probably less likely. The pilot may have maneuvered into an airspace where the Patriot system was in use, and then was hit by accident. But I would like to believe that the Ukrainians do not have the air defense system and the F-16 aircraft active in the same area, or at the same time, he says. On Thursday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyj announced that he has removed the head of the Air Force. He did not say whether this is directly related to the plane crash on Monday. Published 01.09.2024, at 11 p.m
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Investigating the cause of the F-16 crash in Ukraine – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
