 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| . |  |
. |
 by Staff Writers Sofia (AFP) June 11, 2018
A Bulgarian military helicopter crashed during a training exercise on Monday evening near the southern city of Plovdiv, killing two of the three men onboard, the defence ministry said. The Soviet-made Mi-17 helicopter burst into flames after coming down from a height of 50 metres at around 8:30 pm (1730 GMT) not far from the Krumovo military airbase and Plovdiv's civilian airport. "Two of the crew -- the commander and the co-pilot were killed in the fall of the helicopter. The third crew member -- the board mechanic -- was immediately transported to hospital, (he was) conscious," the ministry said in a statement. The cause of the accident was not immediately known, it added. The helicopter was Bulgaria's only operational Mi-17 chopper and mainly used for firefighting in difficult terrains. The accident is the second deadly crash involving a Bulgarian military helicopter in the last 12 months. Last June a Panther-565 of the Bulgarian navy plunged into the Black Sea during a military exercise off the coast of Varna, killing the pilot. A risky manoeuver and bad weather were then cited as causes of the accident but Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, a former airforce chief, also blamed insufficient flight hours. Bulgaria's outdated military equipment, most of which was bought during communism and is Soviet-made, has often caused tensions in the military, with pilots at the country's major Graf Ignatievo airbase refusing to fly MiG-29 jets last October over safety concerns. Public tenders for new equipment have been sidetracked for years. But last Friday Bulgaria's parliament approved plans to spend more than 3.2 billion leva (1.6 billion euros, $1.9 billion) on new fighter jets and armoured carriers.
US grounds B-1 bombers over safety concerns Washington (AFP) June 8, 2018 The US Air Force has temporarily grounded its entire fleet of B-1 heavy bombers over safety concerns, officials said Friday. The safety stand-down, ordered Thursday, follows an investigation into an emergency landing made at Midland, Texas on May 1. Four crewmembers had to land their bomber after some sort of "inflight emergency," officials said. No one was harmed. During the investigation into that incident, "an issue with ejection seat components was discovered that necessitated the stan ... read more
|
|||||||||||||
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
Google
