F-16 Crash in Ukraine: The State Bureau of Investigation Reports on the Progress of the Investigation.

The investigation into the crash of the military F-16 aircraft in Ukraine, which occurred on August 26, 2024, resulting in the death of pilot Oleksii 'Moonfish' Mesia, is ongoing.

According to the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), 11 expert examinations are underway as part of the criminal proceedings, including engineering-transport, military, forensic-medical, computer-technical, and commodity examinations. Final conclusions regarding the causes of the crash and the possible responsibility of officials will be made after the completion of the examinations and the analysis of all collected evidence.

On August 26, pilot Oleksii Mesia, who was piloting the aircraft during the massive Russian attack on Ukraine, was killed in the F-16 crash. According to the publication Breaking Defense, debris from a downed Russian missile could have caused the accident.

Later, it became known that Ukraine had accidentally shot down its F-16 using the Patriot air defense system in the summer of 2024. However, the state did not officially disclose this. The shootdown occurred due to friendly fire from the Patriot air defense system due to a problem with the tactical Link 16 network, which transmits information about the location of enemy missiles and drones to the aircraft pilots, helping them avoid danger.