Crash of a Romanian Mig 21 and a Puma helicopter in the Dobrogea near the Black Sea. 8 dead (v2)
(B2) This Wednesday (March 2) is a sad day for the Romanian air forces and especially those of the 57th air base of Mihail Kogălniceanu. A base where American soldiers are stationed as well as German Eurofighter planes and where French soldiers are due to arrive.
In quick succession two planes crashed
A missing Mig 21
First, a MiG 21 LanceR plane from the 86th Air Base (from Borcea in the Călărași county) lost its radio connection with the control tower, and disappeared from the radar, around 20 p.m., in an area between the localities of Cogealac and Gura Dobrogei near the Black Sea. The aircraft had just taken off ten minutes earlier from Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base with another Mig-21 aircraft for an air patrol mission over the Dobrogea Gorge. Search and rescue operations were launched immediately, said Defense Minister Vasîle Dincu on his Facebook account.
The rescue helicopter crashes in turn
An IAR-330 Puma helicopter therefore took off in an emergency towards the possible impact zone. But, in turn, this helicopter crashed on the ground in the area of Gura Dobrogei, in the county of Constanta. He lost his radio connection with the base around 20:44 p.m. All seven soldiers on board died. In addition to the five crew members, two rescuers at sea had also embarked. The youngest was 27 years old. The pilot of the helicopter, Lieutenant Commander Bogdan Florin, was a seasoned pilot, at 41 years old, in post since 2003, he totaled more than 1500 hours according to the romanian press.
A 31-year-old pilot
The Mig21 pilot was found dead overnight. His plane was located near the town of Cogealac, in an uninhabited area “, specifies the minister. This is Costinel Iosif Niță, 31 years old, married without children. A pilot in Air Squadron 861 at Borcea Air Base 86, since 2014, he had logged more than 570 flight hours, including around 420 hours on the MiG-21.
Part of the Romanian fleet grounded
All planes of the type involved in the two crashes, that is to say the MiG-21 LanceR and IAR 330 Puma helicopters, are grounded and grounded. The time that the circumstances of the two crashes are clarified. The weather conditions were not good tonight, according to the Romanian press.
Ongoing investigation
A commission from the Air Force General Staff and the Military Prosecutor's Office of the Constanta Military Court was dispatched to the scene to investigate the scene of the accident. There is nothing to link (for the moment) to the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict. The accident area is 60 km from the southern border of Ukraine.
Part of the Romanian fleet grounded
This Thursday, March 3 will be a day of mourning in all military units in Romania or abroad.
(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)
Updated Thursday March 3 8am with latest developments