BREAKING: Military Plane Crash Halts Air Show Preparations in Bulgaria (UPDATED)

Defense Minister Atanas Zapryanov has called off the planned air show at the Third Air Base following an accident involving a military transport plane, the L-39 Albatros, the Ministry of Defense reported.

The incident occurred during preparations for tomorrow's demonstrations, set to mark the 20th anniversary of Bulgaria’s accession to NATO.

Update: two of the pilots have died in the crash.

An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the crash, with measures taken to contain the resulting fires and assess the situation.

The L-39 training aircraft crashed at the "Graf Ignatievo" airbase while performing a complex maneuver at an extremely low altitude. During the accident, the catapult did not activate, respectively the parachutes did not open, according to BNT. The machine was piloted by two pilots.

Measures have been taken to localize the fires and establish the causes of the incident.

"All measures have been taken to localize the fires and establish the causes of the tragic accident," said Evelina Branimirova, the Defense Minister's media adviser, on the incident. She could not specify the time or place of the incident. "It is not clear if there are still victims and injured and how many. At this stage, we cannot provide information," Branimirova added.

Defense Minister Zapryanov traveled to the place. A "Cougar" helicopter has taken off and is surveying the scene. Military police are working on the case. The Aero L-39 Albatros is a high-performance jet trainer aircraft designed and manufactured by Aero Vodochody in the Czech Republic. Between 1986 and 1990, Bulgaria acquired a total of 36 Albatros planes from Czechoslovakia. Over time, the number of the fleet decreased and in 2007 these aircraft stopped flying.

Gen. Nikolay Rusev of the Bulgarian Air Force stated that the plane that crashed was not from the air base.

Five firefighting teams are directed to the Third Air Base "Graf Ignatievo". This was announced by the press center of the Regional Directorate "Fire Safety and Protection of the Population" in Plovdiv.

Earlier today, President Rumen Radev participated as a co-pilot in a demonstration flight aboard an F-16 fighter jet at the airbase, at the invitation of the US Air Force. A flight day was planned there for tomorrow on the occasion of 20 years since Bulgaria joined NATO and 35 years since the MiG-29 aircraft was accepted into service with the Bulgarian Air Force.

News of the tragic accident at the "Graf Ignatievo" air base has reached parliament, where a response is anticipated from the political parties, particularly from the members of the parliamentary defense committee. Initially, it was expected that the committee's chairman, Hristo Gadjev, would provide a comment, but he has refrained from doing so for the time being, citing the ongoing investigation and the need for more information.

The L-39 training aircraft has been part of Bulgaria's military since 1994, when the country received 36 units from Czechoslovakia. By 2014, only six of these planes remained operational, having undergone repairs at Bulgaria’s military-industrial facilities. In 2022, Bulgaria signed a framework agreement with a Czech corporation to repair two of these aircraft, which were successfully restored. A new agreement followed in 2024 for the remaining planes stationed at the training base in Dolna Metropolia.

According to sources from BNT, the aircraft involved in the accident was performing a complex maneuver at a very low altitude. The plane’s ejection system and parachutes were not deployed, suggesting a potential malfunction in the avionics or the on-board systems. There is also a possibility that the pilot, who was in control of the aircraft, may have experienced a health issue.

The planes scheduled to participate in the air show had been repaired and their operational life extended by seven and a half years after maintenance in the Czech Republic, making them modern training machines. Weather conditions might have played a role, but this remains speculative for now.

Investigators are currently working to determine the cause of the accident. They will likely consider data from the aircraft’s black box, which records flight altitude, speed, pilot actions, and communication between the flight crew and ground controllers. This information will be crucial in understanding what led to the crash.