One year since death of Ukrainian Air Force pilot Juice, his mother sits in F-16 fighter jet in his honour – video

Juice’s mother, Liliia, in the cockpit of an F-16 jet. Photo: Screenshot from video by Mykola Oleshchuk

Sunday, 25 August marks the one-year anniversary of the death of Ukrainian Air Force pilot, Major Andrii Pilshchykov, who went by the alias Juice. Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk, Commander of Ukraine’s Air Force, honoured his memory by allowing Juice’s mother, Liliia, to sit in the cockpit of an F-16 fighter jet. Andrii had fervently advocated for Ukraine to receive F-16s.

Source: Oleshchuk on social media

Quote: “At the ceremony to say farewell to Juice, I promised Andrii Pilshchykov’s mother, Lilia Oleksandrivna, that she would at least sit in the cockpit of an F-16, the plane that her son dreamed of flying. And I kept my word.

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…Unfortunately, Juice did not live to see his trip to the United States for training. Today, however, his mother is in the cockpit of an F-16. She is continuing her son’s work and will do everything to make our wings stronger.”

Background:

• On 26 August 2023, it was revealed that a well-known pilot known as Juice, as well as two other pilots, lost their lives as a result of a collision between two Ukrainian training and combat aircraft on the evening before in Zhytomyr Oblast. The Vasylkiv 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade said that pilots Viacheslav Minka and Serhii Prokazin, as well as Andrii Pilshchykov (Juice’s actual name), were killed in the crash.
• The State Bureau of Investigation reported that among the avenues of investigation of the crash of two training aircraft in Zhytomyr Oblast, they considered a technical malfunction of the aircraft, pilot error, and a violation of flight organisation. The crash occurred due to the collision of two planes during a turning manoeuvre.
• The investigation rejected the possibility of sabotage

Read also: Plane-spotting in the weeds, unwanted fame, and the Ghost of Kyiv made out of Lego. Andrii Pilshchykov’s mother tells the story of her son’s life

For reference: Andrii “Juice” Pilshchykov, born in Kharkiv, dedicated 8 years of his life to aviation. He had more than 500 flight hours under his belt when Russia launched its full-scale invasion – including carrying out combat missions in difficult conditions. He received several state and departmental awards.

He was a pilot in the Air Command Centre’s 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade, a group of pilots known as the Ghost of Kyiv for their brave actions in defending the capital and the surrounding oblast from Russian aircraft. The rank of Major was awarded to him posthumously.

Pilshchykov was active in the Western media and lobbied for the provision of modern F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.

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