Ukrainian F-16 Pilot Safely Ejects Amid Aerial Mission Incident

A Ukrainian Air Force F-16 fighter jet was lost Friday morning following an incident onboard, with the pilot successfully ejecting, according to a Ukrainian air force statement cited by Reuters. The air force explained that the pilot managed to steer the aircraft away from populated regions before executing an emergency ejection.

Officials reported that the pilot was in good condition post-ejection, and investigations suggest the crash was not due to Russian attack. A probe has been initiated to examine the incident in detail. As per The Kyiv Independent, contact with the F-16 was lost amid a mission to fend off a Russian aerial assault overnight on May 16.

Before losing contact, the pilot reportedly downed three Russian targets and aimed at a fourth. Onboard complications around 3:30 am prompted the ejection, leaving the aircraft's fate unknown. An earlier incident in August last year involved the crash of Ukraine's first F-16, resulting in a pilot fatality.

(With inputs from agencies.)