Pilots Sound after MiG 29 Crash during Bulgarian-US Air Force Training

A photo shows the remnants of the crashed MiG 29 fighter jet of the Bulgarian Air Force. Photo from Mediapool

The two Bulgarian pilots who bailed out before their MiG 29 fighter jet crashed during the Thracian Star 2012 exercise of the Bulgarian and US Air Forces are in a good condition, Bulgaria's Defense Minister Anyu Angelov announced.

The Bulgarian MiG-29 aircraft plummeted into a river earlier on Thursday between the southern villages of Tsarimir and Golyam Chardak near Plovdiv.

The two pilots, Maj. Doychinov and Capt. Metodiev, catapulted out of the aircraft, and no victims or injured have been reported so far. They have been taken to the Military Hospital in Plovdiv, and their life is out of danger.

They have back injuries that are typical after bailing out, Bulgaria's Defense Ministry said in a statement Thursday afternoon.

Defense Minister Anyu Angelov visited them in the hospital in Plovdiv, and commended their quick reflexes and adequate reaction, as they managed to avoid populated areas and prevented death or destruction as a result of the MiG 29 crash.

"Bulgarian military personnel have demonstrated that they act professionally and responsibly in critical situations," he said. The Bulgarian Air Force and Military Police have formed a commission investigating the causes of the MiG 29 crash.

It has been reported that the incident occurred during the largest Bulgarian-US military training campaign ever, Thracian Star 2012, which is taking place near the Graf Ignatievo Air Base close to Plovdiv.

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