The incident happened when the Sukhoi warplane was flying low over the rebel-held area, near Donetsk, some 40 km west of the site where the Malaysian Airline flight MH17 crashed on July 17.

The aircraft exploded midair before it crashed into the ground; however, the witnesses reported that the pilot managed to parachute out.

Spokesperson of Ukrainian military Vladislav Seleznyov, confirmed that rebels had shot down a fighter jet and said that “the pilot managed to steer the craft away from a residential area.” He also said that a search and rescue operation is being carried out for the pilot.

The post Ukrainian Warplane Shot Down Near the MH17 Crash Site first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.