Mykola Melnyk
Nikolai Melnik | |
|---|---|
Melnyk in 2006 | |
| Born | December 17, 1953 Stavysche, Kyiv Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Died | July 26, 2013 (aged 59) Alicante, Spain |
| Allegiance | Soviet Union Ukraine |
| Battles / wars | Chernobyl disaster relief operation |
| Awards | Hero of the Soviet Union Order of Lenin Igor I. Sikorsky Award for Humanitarian Service |
| Other work | Test pilot, aerial firefighting pilot |
Mykola Mykolayovych Melnyk (Ukrainian: Микола Миколайович Мельник; 17 December 1953 – 26 July 2013), also known as Nikolai Melnik, was a Soviet-Ukrainian pilot and liquidator hero known for his high-risk helicopter mission on the dangerously-radioactive Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant building immediately after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
For this operation, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and the Igor I. Sikorsky Award for Humanitarian Service.