Oleksandr Vasylyovych Halunenko ( uk, Олександр Васильович Галуненко) is a Ukrainian

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testing ...

, Honoured Test Pilot of the USSR, the president of the Ukrainian Federation of Aeronautical Sports (member of the

Fédération Aéronautique Internationale The (; FAI; en, World Air Sports Federation) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintai ...

), and recipient of the title

Hero of Ukraine Hero of Ukraine (HOU; uk, Герой України, ''Heroi Ukrainy'') is the highest national title that can be conferred upon an individual citizen by the President of Ukraine. The title was created in 1998 by President Leonid Kuchma and as ...

Antonov An-225 at Farnborough 1990 airshow (2)

He is known for testing such airplanes as the

Antonov An-124 Ruslan The Antonov An-124 Ruslan (; russian: Антонов Ан-124 Руслан, , Ruslan; NATO reporting name: Condor) is a large, strategic airlift, four-engined aircraft that was designed in the 1980s by the Antonov design bureau in the Ukrain ...

and the super giant

Antonov An-225 Mriya The Antonov An-225 Mriya ( uk, Антонов Ан-225 Мрія, lit=dream' or 'inspiration; NATO reporting name: Cossack) was a strategic airlift cargo aircraft designed and produced by the Antonov Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. It was o ...

. Halunenko received the Hero of Ukraine award for manually landing the second prototype of the

Antonov An-70 The Antonov An-70 ( uk, link=no, Антонов Ан-70) is a four-engine medium-range transport aircraft Transport aircraft is a broad category of aircraft that includes: * Airliners, aircraft, usually large and most often operated by airlin ...

successfully, after malfunctions of the electronic control system occurred during its April 1997 initial flight. After retiring from flying in 2004, he served a single term in the

Ukrainian parliament The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...

beginning in 2006. A resident of

Bucha, Ukraine Bucha ( uk, Буча, ) is a city in Ukraine's Kyiv Oblast. Administratively, it serves as the administrative center of Bucha Raion. It hosts the administration of Bucha urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Its population is approximat ...

, Halunenko survived the

battle of Bucha The battle of Bucha was part of the Kyiv offensive in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine for control of the city of Bucha. The combatants were elements of the Russian Armed Forces and Ukrainian Ground Forces. The battle lasted from 27 Februar ...

during the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

References

External links

"Лётчик Александр Галуненко: при СССР государство относилось к авиапрому более ответственно"
("The pilot Oleksandr Halunenko: during the Soviet Union, the state was more responsible towards aviation industry"), ''Glavred'', 22 September 2016 {{DEFAULTSORT:Halunenko, Oleksandr 1946 births Living people People from Zaporizhzhia Oblast Fifth convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Party of Regions politicians Antonov Ukrainian test pilots Recipients of the title of Hero of Ukraine Recipients of the Order of Gold Star (Ukraine) Recipients of the Order of Merit (Ukraine), 3rd class Soviet test pilots