State Bureau of Investigation considering multiple versions of fatal trainer aircraft collision

The State Bureau of Investigation (DBR) is considering three versions of the fatal collision of L-39 jet trainers in Zhytomyr Oblast that caused the death of three pilots, the DBR's communications advisor Tetiana Sapian said on Aug. 28.

These include a technical malfunction, human error on the side of the pilots, and safety violations in the organization of the flights, she said.

According to the most recent data, the planes collided during a U-turn maneuver, Sapian clarified.

The bureau's investigators, in cooperation with military specialists, will conduct a thorough medical and aviation forensic examination of the incident and inspect the black boxes of the planes. Sapian noted that is a process that will "not be done in a single day."

Three Ukrainian pilots, including a well-known pilot from the 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade with the call sign Juice, died on Aug. 25 when their two training jets collided in the sky above Zhytomyr Oblast.