Combat aircraft

M

IG-29 PILOTS OF

the Bulgarian Air

Force declared that

they were suffering

from psychological

problems on

October 24, effectively stopping

all scheduled flying activities

other than the quick reaction

alert (QRA) mission executed from

Graf Ignatievo air base. It was the

culmination of a crisis that had

been building since late 2014, one

that has seen the fleet suffering

from low serviceability as a result of

poor logistics.

On October 19, the defense

committee in the Bulgarian

National Assembly was notified

that the air force was unable to use

six out of the 10 RD-33 turbofans

recently delivered from Russia

under a €21.8-million agreement

signed in November 2016.

These six second-hand engines

were overhauled by the Chernyshev

Moscow Machine-Building

Enterprise and delivered to Bulgaria

without documentation showing

their operational history prior to the

last general overhaul. The defense

ministry in Sofia has contacted the

Russian Aircraft Corporation for

clarification.

The problems at Graf Ignatievo

came to a head less than three

weeks after the Bulgarian

parliament recommended

repeating the process of procuring

a new fighter. The delay has forced

renewed co-operation with Russia

on general overhaul, life-cycle

extension and upgrading of

the MiG-29 fleet. The Bulgarian

government prefers such work to

be carried out by the state-owned

Avionams aircraft repair plant in

Plovdiv. Igor Bozinovski

The Bulgarian ‘Fulcrum’ fleet

comprises 12 single-seat

MiG-29A (9.12A) fighters and

three two-seat MiG-29UB (9.51A)

combat trainers, as pictured.

Alexander Mladenov

LOSSES

Compiled by Tom Kaminski

• Grob G120TP serial 461
  operated by the Royal Jordanian
  Air Force’s King Hussein Air
  College crashed in the Blila region
  of Jerash province on December

10. The student and instructor
    pilots aboard the trainer were
    able to eject safely.

• Atlas Oryx M1 (SA330J) serial
  1236 (c/n 36) operated by the
  South African Air Force crashed
  after it apparently struck power
  cables on December 10. Eight
  personnel aboard the helicopter
  were injured in the mishap, which
  occurred alongside a highway
  near Paarl.


• Mexican Air Force Bell
  407GX serial 1302 (c/n 54573)
  crashed while conducting aerial
  spraying to eradicate poppy
  fields about 60 miles (96.5km)
  west of Chilpancingo, Guerrero,

on November 28. The pilot of the

helicopter was killed in the crash,

which occurred in the mountains

near Coatepec.

• AW101 Mk612 serial 0268
  (c/n 50268) was heavily damaged
  when it rolled over on the
  ground at Stavanger Airport in
  Sola, Norway, during a ground
  maintenance run on November

24. Neither of the pilots aboard
    the helicopter was injured.

• An HJT-16 trainer operated
  by the Indian Air Force crashed
  shortly after take-off from
  Hakimpet Air Force Station,
  Hyderabad on November 24. The
  pilot ejected safely before the
  Kiran came down near Siddipet,
  Telangana.


• A Syrian Arab Air Force L-
  crashed while on the approach
  to land at Deir ez-Zor air base in
  eastern Syria on November 22.
  The trainer was reportedly struck
  by ground fire during an attack
  in Deir ez-Zor. Both pilots died in
  the incident.

EMERGENCY LANDING FOR DUTCH APACHE

A ROYAL NETHERLANDS Air

Force (RNLAF) AH-64D Apache

hit a power line during a low-

flying exercise near the village

of Zoelmond on November 13.

The accident occurred at around

19.00hrs, and left more than

25,000 families without power.

The helicopter, serial Q-29, was

part of a four-ship formation

taking part in Exercise ‘Decisive

Thunder’ when it cut a power line

and had to make an emergency

landing in a nearby field. There

were no casualties and the crew

was able to make a safe landing.

The helicopter was left guarded

overnight before being returned

to its home base at Gilze-Rijen.

After inspection and repairs

it is expected it will return to

active service.

This is the second incident in

which an RNLAF Apache has

caused a massive power loss.

In 2007 a helicopter came into

contact with power lines in the

same area. On that occasion more

than 50,000 families were left

without electricity for over two

days. The aviation authorities are

investigating the latest accident.

MISHAP FOR NORWAY’S FIRST AW

THE NORWEGIAN AW101 that

suffered an incident at Sola on

November 24 was the first of

16 examples being acquired

for the Royal Norwegian Air

Force at a cost of $1.32 billion.

The new helicopter, which was

acquired under the Norwegian

all-weather search and rescue

helicopter (NAWSARH) program,

was delivered to Sola on

November 17. It had been

supporting operational testing

and evaluation in advance of its

planned service entry with 330

Squadron in 2018.

BULGARIAN

PILOTS REFUSE

TO FLY MiG-

FIGHTER FLEET IN CRISIS

Leonardo

[NEWS] WORLD

20 February 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net

16-20 World News C.indd 20 14/12/2017 15: