Air Mystery: An unknown aircraft has entered the airspace of Slovakia, Hungary and other NATO countries – Lórant Kulík
Translation and text: Lórant Kulík
Aircraft without transponder
According to Lithuanian Television and Radio (LRT), an unknown aircraft violated the airspace of several countries. The plane also flew through Slovakia, disrupting our airspace. The incident took place on June 9, 2022. The pilot of the twin-engine aircraft without a transponder did not allow to be disturbed. He had no problem with stopovers and refueling in the Hungarian spa town of Hajduszoboszló without permission. It raised concerns. The unknown aircraft crashed through the premises of several NATO member countries, without any valid shipment or approved flight plan.
Twin-engine aircraft with invalid registration
At the beginning, they stated that it was a twin-engine Beechcraft aircraft. Later, Lithuanian Television and Radio (LRT) clarified the information. The aircraft was registered as LY-LOO with the number PA-23-250. In a picture published by Bulgarian television via Euractiv.com, the aircraft in question looks exactly like the Aztec from 1962. The machine was manufactured by Piper Aircraft. The aircraft registration number has long been invalid.
He violated NATO’s airspace
Something very mysterious has happened that has raised NATO concerns. The unknown aircraft penetrated the premises of several countries, major NATO members, without any official dispatch or approved flight plan. The plane took off from an unspecified airport in Lithuania. It flew over Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Serbia and Romania. Finally, on June 9, it arrived at a small abandoned airport in Bulgaria. All states are part of the NATO alliance except Serbia.
Suspicious flight
After the alleged takeoff from Lithuania, the plane appears to have stopped in Hungary. The news source Délhir spoke with János Vajda, executive director of Debrecen International Airport in Hungary. The director said he noted that an unknown plane had taken off from a nearby area. He insisted that the plane did not take off from the airport in Debrecen.
They landed illegally and refueled in Hajdúszoboszló
Later, István Juhos, director of the Hajdúszoboszló Aeroclub, which operates an aviation club in Hungary, confirmed that arriving from Lithuania landed in the well-known spa town of Hajdúszoboszló illegally. Several people got off the plane, probably to refuel. They attacked a police officer who immediately called the police. By the time the police arrived, the crew boarded the plane and flew to Bulgaria. .
Beechcraft five-piece machine
Due to the illegality of the situation, airport officials contacted the local police, who tried to respond but did not arrive before the plane took off from the airport. However, before landing in Bulgaria, the aircraft was accompanied by up to six fighter planes until it reached Bulgarian airspace. The US, Hungarian and Romanian air forces were alerted to an unauthorized flight over Europe, after which each of them allegedly sent two fighter jets to detain the plane. Two US F-16s, two Romanian F-16s and two Hungarian Gripen aircraft pursued the aircraft. In some cases in its flight path, however, it probably did not respond to radio or visual signals.
Jas-39 Gripen Jets
The transponder of the aircraft was turned off and apparently flew at sufficiently low altitudes, so it was very achievable to capture the fighters. The Bulgarian Ministry of Defense states that the aircraft does not pose a threat to civilians or military infrastructure. The ministry claimed that close monitoring continued despite deciding that it was a clearly suspicious flight that posed no immediate danger. Even the Romanian Ministry of Defense shared this view and approached it with an attitude of unwavering curiosity rather than active defense, because they thought the small plane was behaving dangerously.
The plane was sold to the unknown by Bronius Zaronskis
Lithuanian television also spoke with Bronius Zaronskis (pictured), pilot and director of Nida Air Park in Lithuania. He claims that he only sold the plane last week to an undisclosed organization. He noted that before the sale could take place, three foreigners, one of whom spoke Russian, came to inspect the aircraft.
They landed in Bulgaria at an abandoned airport
The place where the plane landed is known as Targovishte Airport. It is located near the village Buhovtsi between Targovishte and Shumen. It is known that for many years it did not accept aircraft and the locals began to use it for agricultural purposes in the summer months. According to a European news source, the plane was found abandoned with a still warm engine. The pilot escaped by the crew and to this day they have not been tracked. The case was dealt with by Bulgarian television and other foreign media Euractiv.com and others. This mysterious incident took place in the midst of central tensions as a result of the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, which worried NATO. first, in March, a high-speed drone Tu-141 “Strizh” armed with a bomb crashed in the Croatian capital, raising concerns about NATO’s airspace security.
You can see pictures of the mysterious plane in the photo gallery.
Photo gallery:
Bronius Zaronskis Photo by J. Stacevičius-LRT
Beechcraft five-piece machine
Hungarian Gripen Jets 39