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A former military pilot believes that a piloting error is behind the tragedy in Count Ignatievo

I do not think that the plane failed, emphasized Nikolay Kalev

Sep 14, 2024 16:58 182

"The reasons for the tragedy near "Count Ignatievo" ; there could be several, but at the given moment we do not have complete information to dwell on one of the hypotheses. And the first hypothesis is failure of the aviation equipment. The Aero L-39 Albatros is a very nice Czech-made aircraft. It has been flown for many years now, training cadets, future military pilots, aviators. The aircraft has undergone major overhaul. I assume that before the flight it was fully tested, both the engines and the on-board systems.

This was explained in the program “Offensive with Lyubomir Ognyanov” on NOVA News, former military pilot Nikolay Kalev.

He also rejected the hypothesis that a bird got into the engine of the machine. "In my opinion, it is a question of wrong piloting technique on the part of the two pilots. For me, it is very interesting how the training of the pilots was conducted on the eve of this demonstration day", said the former pilot.

And he explained that "flight work is specific work". "A pilot may be a first-class flyer, but when he has to perform such a complex task, he must train to the maximum. They said in public that they had been preparing for several months. Yes, but how have the last two or three weeks been? I, if I were their commander, for the last two or three weeks, depending on the weather forecast, I would load them three flight shifts a week with complex aerobatics. First at medium altitudes and gradually lower the altitude", he emphasized on the preparation for the flight.

Kalev also explained why the two pilots did not manage to eject before the collision. "If they were executing any descending maneuver below 150-100m, they simply didn't have a useful move. Even if they were to eject, they wouldn't have had time, the parachute wouldn't have opened, and I assume that they pulled the axle as hard as possible so as not to hit the ground," the former military pilot emphasized.