The pilot died too but it's not like they care about Ukrainian lives to mention it in the headline.
Dates for the articles:
"Ukraine has lost its first F-16" - August 29th
"Ukraine's F-16s have arrived" - August 4th
"Any day now, Ukraine will finally get its F-16s" - December 24, 2023
Press F [16] to pay respects
Apparently, it was first reported that the F-16 was shot down. Then the story was pulled and replaced with one about it crashing on its own accord.
If the guy who is being reported as "the best pilot in Ukraine" crashed an F-16 during a mission, that says much worse things about the Ukrainian Air Force.
Mind you, Russia has sophisticated anti-air capabilities and can easily dominate Ukrainian airspace if they need to. But, sure, that billion-dollar high-tech jet fighter crashed itself.
This is just a necessary story beat that leads up to the Ghost of Kiev(tm) in a single fighter turning the tide of the war by blowing up wave after wave of enemy vehicles and a boss at the end of each stage. You know what you doing. For great justice. 