Death of military pilots before air show sparks sharp criticism of Bulgarian army

The deaths of two Bulgarian military pilots on Friday sparked sharp criticism of the air force for attempting to hold an air show given the current poor state of Bulgarian fighter aviation.

The military pilots, Major Petko Dimitrov and Senior Lieutenant Ventsislav Dunkin, died on Friday while training for an air show scheduled to take place on Saturday. The accident happened while flying at a very low altitude in a Czech L-39 fighter trainer.

The cancelled airshow was intended to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Bulgaria’s accession to NATO and the 35th anniversary of the induction of MiG-29 fighters into the Bulgarian Air Force.

Shortly before the accident Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, a former fighter pilot and head of Bulgarian combat aviation, conducted a demonstration flight in an F-16.

“In this very difficult state of Bulgarian aviation, especially combat aviation, we have to ask ourselves whether demonstrations and air shows are the best way to use limited resources when we expect the F-16s to arrive in a few months,” former military minister and military expert Velizar Shalamanov told Nova TV.

He added that Bulgarian military pilots fall short of the flying hours required by NATO standards