Bulgarian Air Force fighter plane crashes into Black Sea during exercise

A Bulgarian Air Force MiG-29 crashed into the Black Sea in the early hours of June 9 while taking part in the Shabla 21 training exercise. The plane crashed in the open sea near Shabla

Investigation will be conducted by the military Prosecutor’s office.

A statement by the Ministry of Defence said that radio communication was lost and the aircraft disappeared from radar at 0.45am. A search and rescue operation was initiated immediately and is ongoing, the Ministry said. It involves forces and assets from the Navy, the Joint Special Operations Command, the Border Police and the Air Force.

Caretaker Minister of Defense Georgi Panayotov is travelling to the area of ​​the incident.

The Exercise "Shabla 21" has been suspended.

The life jacket of the pilot was found.

No attempt was made by the pilot to establish radio communication around the time of the incident, the minister said.