The 71-year-old owner of the homemade hang glider that crashed between Ravda and Nessebar is in critical condition with life-threatening injuries. His companion, a 56-year-old man, lost his life when the machine crashed. So far, information shows that the aircraft is amateur, rusty and unregistered, and the pilot does not have a license. Once the hang glider is pulled out of the water, experts must confirm or reject these claims.
“We already have categorical confirmation that the driver does not have a certificate of flying license. This suggests that the National Investigation Service should also be involved in the case“. He stated this in “Hello, Bulgaria” on Nova TV, the head of the Burgas District Prosecutor's Office, Georgi Chinev.
The owner of a school for training amateur pilots, Gicho Kovachev, said that he has been reporting dangerous flights for over ten years, the last one about ten days ago. Then Kovachev saw the aircraft circling low over the roofs of Nessebar.
“This worried me and I called the Flight Information Center, where they said they would notify the Civil Aviation Authority. Then I also called 112“, the man said. According to him, the very next day the owner of the hang glider found him, as he had already found out who had reported him.
Kovachev is categorical that the person who was flying the machine cannot be considered a pilot. “He does not have a flying license. In addition to being acquired, it must also be maintained - every two years the pilot takes an exam, and every year undergoes a medical examination“, Kovachev pointed out.
According to him, the equipment used does not meet the definition of a motor hang glider. “For me, this is a self-built air raft that takes off from water and lands on water“, the instructor also said.
According to him, flights with passengers have been carried out for a fee, and such practices are not an isolated case. And he recalled that according to the Civil Aviation Act, such flights can only be carried out by licensed operators with the relevant permits, qualified pilots and certified aircraft.