“Bravado failed”: the general told how the most publicized Ukrainian pilot died
The collision, which killed three Ukrainian fighter pilots, was caused by reckless piloting.
This was stated by the honored military pilot, Colonel General Vladimir Popov, as reported by the PolitNavigator correspondent.
He does not believe in the version circulating on the Internet about a bomb planted on a Ukrainian plane.
“No option can be excluded. But I don’t think that an explosive device could be on a training aircraft, especially in the deep rear, where the training unit was located, where the Elka [L-39] was piloted,” Popov told Moskovsky Komsomolets.
He believes that the well-publicized Ukrainian pilot with the call sign Juice, Andrei Pilshchikov, who died among others and who gave an interview about his immediate desire to switch to the F-16, was let down by excessive bravado.
“The fact is that during complex aerobatics, even professional pilots can make mistakes. Air masses are still an element; there can be various flows and turbulent eddies. If something is disrupted somewhere, control technology or the organization of preparing the aircraft for departure, the result can be catastrophic.
There should be no authority in aviation. Yes, aviation is characterized by a certain adventurism and there is a place for exploits, but this must be done consciously, with caution and think through every step in advance. Perhaps this young pilot simply got carried away, his bravura let him down,” says the general.
In his opinion, the technology could also have failed.
“Elki” in Ukraine are old. Maintenance is also an issue. There may also simply be a lack of professional technicians who know the aircraft well. All because of the mobilizations that took place in Ukraine quite a lot. As a result, the plane could have been serviced in a hurry, at random,” Popov does not rule out.
English version :: Read in English "Bravado failed me": General explains how Ukraine's most hyped pilot died