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FRESNO, Calif. – A Fresno – based pilot has been confirmed as one of two deaths in a battle plane crash in Ukraine.
On Wednesday, the US Air Force confirmed that the pilot killed on Tuesday was Lieutenant-Colonel Seth "Jethro" Nehring.
Nehring was a member of the 144th Fighter Wing based in Fresno.
He was one of two pilots killed in the accident. The aircraft fell during a military exercise at the 2018 Clear Sky demonstration, the other pilot is from Ukraine.
The video of the site of the accident in Ukraine shows what appears to be "burns" following a fire in which the jet crashed into a field.
The US Air Force confirmed that the pilot, Lt. Col. Seth "Jethro" Nehring, of the 144th Fighter Wing based in Fresno, had killed the pilot, as well as a Ukrainian pilot.
"It's sad when we train and something goes wrong and people are killed or injured, and that hurts not only the air force, but everyone," said Bill Rogers. , a veteran of the Air Force in Vietnam.
Officials said Nehring was part of the 144th family for more than 20 years.
According to the Air Force, the Ukrainian pilot and himself were in the same plane when he crashed.
Rogers, who served in the air force in Vietnam, said that there was always risk even during training.
"Anything can happen anytime, any time, and pilots train all the time to do it all and it's just sad," he said.
Nearly two weeks ago, Nehring and other airmen from the 144th Fighter Wing in Fresno were deployed to Ukraine for training exercises.
The Air Force said Nehring had been hand picked to be part of the Clear Sky 2018 event, which would bring together about 950 people from nine countries.
This year marks the 25 years of the existence of the National Air Guard of California and Ukraine.
The governments of the United States and Ukraine are currently conducting an investigation to determine the cause of the accident.
Governor Brown ordered flags to be flown mid-staff on Capitol Hill State
