Bulgarian MiG-29 crashes in the Black Sea during its participation in exercise

Defence Redefined

Published on 09/06/2021 at 15:25

A Bulgarian MiG-29 crashed in the Black Sea during its participation in the exercise “Shabla 21” today (June 9, 2021).

“An MiG-29 aircraft of the Bulgarian Air Force lost radio communication and disappeared from radar at 00:45,” the Bulgarian Defence Ministry said in a statement.

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A search and rescue operation was immediately launched, with personnel and means of the Bulgarian Navy, the Joint Special Operations Command, the Border Police and the Bulgarian Air Force. “Shabla 21” exercise has been suspended due to the incident, the Bulgarian Defence Ministry said.

Bulgarian media reported that at 10 a.m. the pilot’s life jacket was found.

Defence Minister Georgy Panayotov told Bulgarian National Radio that the precise location of the crash was not known.

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“When such an incident occurs, the pilot usually takes action and ejects from the aircraft. We have no information that the pilot ejected,” the minister said.

According to the information from the Bulgarian media, the pilot did not attempt a radio connection to the base, nor did he transmit any signal.

The Bulgarian National Radio reported that the aircraft dates back to the late 1980s and was intended to be in service until 2029 / 2030. 

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