Farewell Ceremony with the heroically killed flight attendant of the Ukrainian helicopter airline

On March 14, in the city of Juba, at the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) camp, a memorial service was held in honor of the heroically fallen flight attendant of PJSC AC Ukrainian helicopters, Sergii Prykhodko. The ceremony also included the awarding of the pilot-in-command of the aircraft, Serhiy Muzyka, co-pilot Dmytro Typlykh, and flight engineer Oleh Hrynko. Four members of the Ukrainian crew demonstrated extraordinary bravery during the evacuation in Nasir, Upper Nile State. The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of the UN Mission in South Sudan, Nicholas Geissom, personally presented the UN flag and three medals, and the fourth was awarded posthumously.

7 March 2025, the United Nations helicopter, piloted by Ukrainian Helicopters, was shot down during the evacuation mission in Nasir, Upper Nile State, killing one crew member and seriously injuring two others. In addition, several members of the South Sudan People's Defense Forces (SSPDF), including General Daka, were killed during an attempt by UNMISS to evacuate people from the area.

The Ukrainian Helicopters aircraft landed at a designated point for the peacekeeping mission to evacuate people. In the abrupt shooting, the Ukrainian Helicopters flight attendant and rescuer Sergii Prykhodko died while shielding the UNMISS chief high-ranking negotiator, who was there to stabilize the situation in South Sudan. 

Crew commander Serhiy Muzyka, with a gunshot wound to the hand, managed to lift the damaged helicopter into the air, evacuate 8 people and pull them out of the fire. Also wounded, co-pilot Dmytro Teplykh assisted the pilot. The helicopter got over 20 gunshot holes and suffered significant damage. However, the highly qualified crew, even though wounded, were able to complete the rescue operation and land the helicopter in a designated safe location. The Ukrainian Helicopters is ongoingly training their highly professional pilots to perform 24/7 search and rescue operations and is proud of their valor.

Serhiy Muzyka has already obtained extensive experience in search and rescue operations when evacuating victims of a plane crash in Somalia in 2015.