The first- and second-place winning pilots likely crashed at the National Air Race Championships, possibly because of a blind spot, glare or loss of focus.
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.