Two pilots died in a military helicopter crash at Plovdiv airport

Two parallel investigations were launched into the tragic incident, in which two military pilots died after a Mi-17 helicopter crashed at Plovdiv Airport in the evening on 11th of June. Aviation Safety Department and the Military-District Prosecutor's Office in Plovdiv are working on the investigation. The captain, Plamen Panteleev, and his assistant captain, Stoyan Nedelchev, died. The boarding technician Alexey Kamenov has injuries, but not life-threatening.

Re-inspection at the scene of the crash began early in the morning on 12^th of June. Mi-17 helicopter crashed literally meters from the runway of the civil airport in Bulgaria’s second largest city of Plovdiv. Experts will work all day. Every remaining part of the helicopter will be examined in detail. So far, there is no evidence of the fatal accident being caused by a human error. This was announced by Colonel Dimo Bachvarov, head of the Military-District Prosecutor's Office in Plovdiv. Pre-trial proceedings were initiated under urgent conditions.

By orders of Minister Karakachanov, the investigation includes a specialized structure of the military police. It works on all possible versions. The investigation is expected to be completed within 30 days. Currently, the most triggered cause of a severe accident is a technical malfunction, although the helicopter has undergone a complete repair only two years ago. It had 600 flying hours. After that repair until the time of the crash, the heicopter run half of these hours.

It was this helicopter that led the military parade on May 6th, the Day of Bulgarian Army.

The two pilots who died in the crashed had more than 10 years of service in the air force base.