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Two pilots from the Air Force and the Serbian Army Air Defense were killed yesterday morning at 9.10 am during the crash of a MiG-21 plane in the Brasina village area near Mali Zvornik while carrying out their flight duties. The plane crashed during a regular flight assignment, in front of numerous locals who watched the forgotten drama in shock. One of the dead pilots recently posted on his Facebook profile a photo of the plane in which they died, with the words: “55 years in our country and still on the front line.”
– I heard a loud sound and flew out of the house, I saw the plane flying low and I felt a strong smoke that was really big when the plane crashed – said a witness of the horrible plane crash to “Blic”.
Before the accident itself, a loud deafening noise was heard, and only a part of the wreckage of the plane that crashed during the execution of the regular flight task remained. There was a lot of thick smoke everywhere, at one point there was a fire, but the fire service reacted immediately.
– When the plane landed low, I felt strong smoke and when I got to the place by car, everything was on fire, the firefighters came immediately and extinguished the fire – said witness Stanoje Grujić.
According to the testimony of another neighbor, the plane almost hit the house and, according to him, “the explosion was impossible.”
– He flew and turned between Ristic and Tanaskovic and fell into the stream. The three of us saw it! He ran away from home, I groaned, he called the whole town, to help, to save the children, the explosion was impossible, it hit the little boy. He fought not to hit the houses, the roof scratched me a bit – says the local.
The unfortunate pilot Zvonko Vasiljevic (43) was born in the village of Donja Borina and, according to members of his family, died shortly after flying over their village and family home. According to the portal ucentar.rs, Zvonko was considered an exceptional pilot and in the team where he works for him, they only have words of praise. He worked at Lađevci airport near Kraljevo, where he flew the “eagle” plane, to transfer to Batajnica as a training pilot at MIG 21. From there, he took off yesterday morning.
Flew over his house
On his Facebook profile there is a photo of him and a photo of MIG 21. In the comment below the photo of the plane, he wrote “55 years with us and still in the front line.” By the way, the injured pilot’s mother told “Novosti” that, half an hour before the flight, Zvonko called her and told her to go out on the terrace because she would be flying over their houses.
– I waited for him like the frozen sun, he is our pride and joy in every way, both as a child, as a man and as a pilot. I don’t know what happened in the meantime – said the desperate mother.
Father Dragan says that he knows his son in his soul, but also his thoughts on flights, and says: “Who knows how many times he told me that he would never, at all costs, leave anyone on a plane and he catapults himself” . Never, he emphasized. yes, it wouldn’t. I’m sure he didn’t now, because he has strong morals, professionalism, and philanthropy. “
The plane was flying from Donja Borina, where, according to the testimony of a local woman, it almost collided with her house, and continued towards Vrasina.
By the way, a resident was injured during the plane crash. A 59-year-old man who was injured when a military plane crashed in the Brasina village area near Loznica was admitted to Loznica General Hospital with numerous burns. Meanwhile, locals surprised at the scene comment that such an accident is not remembered.
– The man was admitted to the intensive care unit, he is conscious, oriented, with burns on his chest, head and arms. Aside from burns, no other injuries have been established so far, it was confirmed for “Blic.”
Injured resident
An injured resident was found in a backyard due to a combination of unfortunate circumstances.
– Vitomir was in his yard when the plane crashed! Then he suffered burns and a neighbor who heard a noise and saw thick smoke came out and found him. Immediately he was transferred to the local hospital and he was treated and for now it is not known if his life is in danger – says an eyewitness to this great catastrophe.
The Serbian Interior Ministry was the first to be informed about the plane crash, so the Interior Ministry helicopter was the first to arrive at the crash site. Soon a Serbian army helicopter appeared. The body of the pilot Vasiljevic was found, but not that of his colleague, fueling the hope of those present that this aviator would manage to catapult and survive. However, Zoran Obradovic, a prosecutor for the Sabac District Prosecutor’s Office, said that while the pilot was said to have catapulted himself, “it is quite certain that both pilots died.” Despite an extensive search of the terrain until yesterday afternoon, the body of the other pilot was not found.
The plane is 34 years old.
The plane that crashed in the Brasina town area near Loznica is 34 years old, and after overhaul in 2016 and a two-year hiatus, it was back in the air in May this year.
It is a two-seater MiG-21UM (NL-16, registration number 16185), the youngest MiG-21 purchased by the former Yugoslavia in December 1986. It was repaired in 2016 at the “Moma Stanojlović” Aviation Institute and, as announced the “Tango Six” portal earlier this year, was supposed to remain in use until 2026.
During the celebration of Aviation Day last year, the commander of the 204th Air Brigade, General Zeljko Bilic, declared for that portal that “the MiG-21s are still in operation and that they will remain until 2025.”
Since September 2015, when the last single-seater MiG-21bis was grounded due to the expiration of resources and the already extended service life, the RV and PVO used only three two-seaters, one of which (16178) according to the sub-regional agreement Gun control in the second half of the 1990s was disarmed.
Due to the lack of a sufficient number of combat aircraft, the remaining two MiG-21UMs (16180 and 16185) were integrated with R-60MK infrared self-guided air-to-air missiles in early 2016, and were used, among other things, in the state air defense system in service. Tango six “.
We lost heroes
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić sent his condolences on the death of two pilots of the Serbian Air Force and Air Defense Army.
“I am deeply shocked by the news of the death of our pilots, who lived for Serbia and who dedicated their entire lives to the service of the homeland. In this tragedy, their families lost their loved ones, our army, patriots and exceptional professionals, and the whole country, heroes who gave themselves unselfishly, honorably fulfilling their difficult duties ”, it is said in Vučić’s telegram.
Previous accidents
2018.
The military plane “Supergaleb G-4” crashed near Kovacica, and Major Robert Kaloci, pilot of the Flight Test Center of the Serbian Army Technical-Experimental Center, was killed, while the pilot Major Aleksandar Matic was injured. and transferred to the Military Medical Academy.
2017.
In the accident near the village of Slatina, near Sabac, a “super gull” crashed during regular flight training and killed Lieutenant Colonel Nenad Ćulibrk, Air Force and Air Defense Command, and Captain Dejan Pandurović, of the 252nd School Aviation Squadron.
2015.
A Serbian army Mi-17 transport helicopter crashed in Surcin, killing seven people: four members of the Armed Forces, two medical workers and a five-day-old baby. Senior pilot Omer Mehić, pilot captain Milovan Karić, ensign Nebojša Trajić, mechanical pilot Ivan Miladinović, doctor Dževad Ljajić, anesthesiologist Miroslav Veselinović and a baby from the Ademović family died on the plane. The Mi-17 helicopter crashed due to “difficult weather conditions” on the way back from Raska, from where it was carrying a life-threatening baby from Novi Pazar.
2013.
During the technical test of the “swallow” plane in Nova Pazova, Major Goran Savić was killed, while the long pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Tomislav Bećagović, was slightly injured. As then-Chief of Staff Ljubisa Dikovic later said, “the accident probably happened because the aircraft’s commands failed.”
2009.
A military MIG-29 plane crashed near Batajnica airport, the pilot of the plane Rade Randjelovic catapulted, but died as a result of his injuries. Private Milan Ulemek was also killed when the plane hit the ground, while another soldier was slightly injured.
2008.
Lieutenant Colonel Istvan Kanas, who was rehearsing a point to perform at the air show over Batajnica airport, was killed when the “super gull” he was piloting crashed.
VIDEO: MIG 21 plane crashed near Loznica
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