Kharkiv Air Force University cadet dies during training flight

A Ukrainian first-year cadet at the Ivan Kozhedub National Air Force University in Kharkiv crashed during a training flight on July 27, the university reported.

The cadet, whose name has not been released, was flying a Ukrainian-made K-10 Swift aircraft.

Investigators, experts, and specialists of Ukraine's Air Force are working at the scene. The circumstances and location of the crash have not been disclosed.

"The causes of the crash are being determined... The university management is fully cooperating with the investigation," the university said.

In 2020, an An-26 aircraft of Ukraine's Armed Forces crashed during a training flight near the town of Chuhuiv in Kharkiv Oblast with 27 people on board. Twenty six of them — cadets of the Kharkiv National Air Force University and officers — died.

There are six defendants in the case, including Serhii Drozdov, then commander of Ukraine's Air Force, and former head of the university Oleksandr Turinskyi.

They are accused of negligent attitude to military service and violation of flight rules or preparation for them. If proven guilty, the former military officers may face up to 15 years in prison.

Three pilots who died in mid-air collision identified by name

The names of all three pilots killed in a mid-air collision over Zhytomyr Oblast were released by the Vasylkiv Tactical Aviation Brigade on Aug. 27. They were Captain Andrii Pilshchykov, also known as “Juice,” Major Viacheslav Minka, and Major Serhii Prokazin.

The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk