Poltava region is investigating the F-16 plane crash that occurred yesterday

The SBI investigators have begun investigating the F-16 fighter jet crash in the Poltava region, which occurred yesterday at around 6:45 PM in the Kremenchuk district.

This was reported by the press service of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI).

According to the State Bureau of Investigation, the accident occurred while the pilot was performing a combat mission. He managed to eject, and his life is not in danger.

Investigators have been working at the crash site since night. The State Bureau of Investigation is investigating violations of flight rules or preparations for them that caused the disaster.

Yesterday, the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine wrote that the pilot was intercepting air targets at the time of the accident. At the time, the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine claimed that, according to preliminary data, an emergency situation had arisen.

What is known about the losses of the Air Force

Since the start of the full-scale war with Russia, the Ukrainian Air Force has lost several fighter jets and professional pilots. In particular, in August 2023, pilot Andriy "Juice" Pilshchikov died, and two pilots also died in a plane crash in the Zhytomyr region.

In August 2024, Oleksiy "Moonfish" Mes died while repelling a Russian attack. This was the first officially confirmed loss of an F-16 fighter jet by Ukraine.

After that, several air crashes were reported: on the night of August 23, 2025, the pilot of the MiG-29 fighter, Major Serhiy Bondar, was killed, and on December 17, the crew of a Ukrainian Mi-24 helicopter was killed. Before that, at noon on December 8, 2025, on the eastern front while performing a combat mission on a Su-27 aircraft, Ukrainian pilot Yevhen Ivanov was killed.

On June 16, a front-line Su-24M bomber crashed in the Khmelnytskyi region, killing the pilot and navigator.

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