Pentagon says Ukraine leads investigation into F-16 crash
Kyiv • UNN
The Pentagon spokesman said that Ukraine is playing a leading role in the investigation of the F-16 crash that occurred in August. Currently, the US is not commenting on the incident and advises to seek information from the Ukrainian side.
The US Department of Defense has noted that Ukraine is playing a leading role in the investigation of the F-16 crash. This was stated by Pentagon spokesman General Patrick Ryder during a conversation with journalists, UNN reports with reference to the department's website.
Details
He was asked whether the United States was involved in the investigation into the downing of an F-16 in Ukraine in August.
Like any sovereign nation where such an incident occurs, they play a leading role in the investigation. Therefore, Ukraine is leading the investigation. In the aviation community, and this is a generalized statement, you will always learn from different incidents or challenges that are used to learn lessons
He noted that he had no comment for the media on the F16 incident and advised that questions should be addressed to the Ukrainian side.
Recall
Ukrainian pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Oleksiy Mes, was killed when his F-16 fighter jet crashed on Monday, August 26. The Air Command "West" of the Ukrainian Air Force reported that the pilot was killed while repelling a Russian massive combined missile and air strike and destroyed three cruise missiles and one attack UAV.
The crash was commented on by the then commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, Mykola Oleshchuk, who assured that the causes would be found out and that the United States had joined the investigation. According to media reports, U.S. officials believethat the F-16 in Ukraine was unlikely to have been shot down by "friendly fire." They are considering versions of mechanical failure and pilot error, as well as problems in the aviation management structure.