Pilots Andrei Nichiporchik and Nikita Kukonenko posthumously named Heroes of Belarus

Pilots Andrei Nichiporchik and Nikita Kukonenko have been posthumously awarded the Hero of Belarus title by a corresponding decree signed by the President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, BelTA reports with reference to the press service of the Belarusian leader

Photos: www.belta.by

The commander and the pilot of the combat aviation training unit of the combat aviation training squadron of the 116^th Guards Assault Aviation Base of the Air Force and Air Defence Forces of the Armed Forces have been awarded this high title for courage and heroism shown during performance of military duty.

During their training flight over Baranovichi on May 19^th, a Yak-130 military aircraft of the Lida Assault Aviation Base crashed. The crew team died: the flight commander of the combat training squadron of the 116^th Guards Assault Aviation Base, Major Andrei Nichiporchik and the Yak-130 pilot of the combat training squadron of the 116^th Guards Assault Aviation Base, Lieutenant Nikita Kukonenko. Slightly more than a minute passed from the moment of the emergency to the crash of the plane. Under these conditions, with incredible efforts at an altitude of about 50m, the crew managed to stabilise the flight direction and head the Yak-130 to the only point that was outside residential buildings.