Ukrainian air defense forces mistakenly shot down their own F-16 fighter jet
The incident occurred because the pilot put the plane into low-altitude surveillance mode, so the air defense system mistakenly identified it as an enemy cruise missile.
On August 30, a Russian military website quoted a source saying that Ukraine's air defense forces shot down their own F-16 fighter jet due to a mistake.
The incident occurred because the pilot put the plane into low-altitude surveillance mode, so the air defense system mistakenly identified it as an enemy cruise missile.
According to sources, the incident occurred in an unspecified area, but the pilot of the fighter jet was killed.
To date, this is the first case of an F-16 fighter jet being shot down over Ukrainian territory.
Earlier, Deputy Chairwoman of the Security, Defense and Intelligence Committee of the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine, Maryana Bezuglaya, said that during the large-scale missile attack on August 26, a Ukrainian F-16 fighter jet was accidentally shot down by its own air defense forces using a Patriot air defense missile system.
The incident resulted in the death of pilot Alexei Mesy, who was flying the downed plane.
According to Ms. Bezugla, the lack of coordination between the units involved in repelling the attack was the main factor leading to this tragic incident.