Can you create a character only to have them killed?

I think it's possible, in my manga I killed off 3 people who had very little if any development just for storyline purposes, if you can write it well then there should be no problem

 

In my current story, it starts of from the point of view of a fighter pilot flying with his three wingmates into a warzone. I won't say by what, but all three wingmates' planes are destroyed before they can eject and the POV character spins out of control and is assumed to be dead--at this point, it switches over to one of the true main characters.

Plenty of examples in here, so yes, it certainly is possible.

 

I think that would work really well to get the reader's attention really early in the story in much the same way that some World War II movies will open with some anonymous character dying on the D-day invasion. It would be like a punch in the gut.

 

sounds good to me! don't be afraid to do something different than everybody else. I think that this is a grand idea

 

Depending upon the type of story being written, I don't think that it's necessary a bad thing to create a character who is well developed, but meant to be killed off. Sometimes it's this type of drama which makes the story interesting. A reader can develop a deep connection with the character, and actually feel an emotional sense of loss when that character dies.

 

The prologue contains backstory or crucial information, or even just a good hook. It really needn't have anything to do with the characters we'll meet throughout the main story. Providing it adds something to the story and you have enough skill and grace to pull this off, I'd go for it.

 

Of course if it further develops another, more important, character or it follows what the dying character would do.

 

Ooof, definitely, If you read a warhammer 40k novel, you'll basically know if a character is going to die, like a gut feeling, thats pretty much how often it's used. Like slasher movies (shame on teenager logic ). But its good to spice up a novel with a little death, works most cases but you need to make sure the reader feels the loss, thats when you know you've done a good job.