Mystery in the sky: a plane flew illegally over 4 countries and landed at a disused airport in Bulgaria

Mystery in the sky. A small plane, an old model, flew illegally over four countries yesterday and landed at a disused airport in Bulgaria.

The plane, which entered the Bulgarian airspace without permission, put the air forces and air defence systems of Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria on alert. All attempts by fighter jets to make contact with its crew proved unsuccessful.

The crew is being sought.

All actions have been taken to trace the trajectory of the plane and accordingly its landing. The Ministry of Interior said that investigative actions were underway.

Last night at around 9.30pm, residents from the villages of Saedineniye and Buhovtsi, Targovishte district, North-Eastern Bulgaria, heard the buzzing of a plane that was flying in a west-east direction.

The plane was found at the end of an abandoned runway at the airport in the village of Buhovtsi. There was a working small video camera on its fuselage, according to local residents who managed to get a closer look.

The last time there was a flight at this airport was in 1993, after which it was closed. Before landing in Buhovtsi, the plane landed briefly on the runway of the former civil airport near the village of Inovo, Vidin district. According to unofficial information, it refuelled from petrol cans. The pilot managed to take off before the police arrived.

"I will say what we know. It took off from Lithuania, passed through Poland, landed in Slovakia, continued through Hungary, then passed through and landed in Bulgaria. What was the purpose, what happened is a matter of investigation," Minister of Interior, Boyko Rashkov, said.

The air force was the first to detect the offending aircraft, having previously been notified by NATO allies escorting the plane. It took off from Debrecen at around 5.30pm yesterday, was immediately intercepted by two Hungarian Gripoons.

All attempts to contact the crew were unsuccessful. The aircraft flew with transponders switched off and did not respond on radio channels. It managed to enter Romania via Obadia district, there it was escorted by a pair of American F-16s which relayed it to Romanian fighter jets.

"We are talking to authorities in neighbouring countries to find out what happened. We don't know yet the reason for this strange flight of a twin-engine plane over three countries, but we will continue to investigate the case," said Vasile Duncu, Romania's defence minister.

Romanian authorities say the plane is a 1960s Beechcraft. For a short time, it entered Serbian airspace, then veered east towards Bulgaria.

"It was immediately located in Bulgarian airspace. There was no need to immediately scramble fighters. Its movement was tracked. Of course the air defence was on standby, but at no point was the aircraft a threat to civilian or military infrastructure in Bulgaria," Defence Minister Dragomir Zakov said.

He said the plane was moving, following the profile of the terrain.

"It was flying at a low altitude, at a fairly low speed, that is, difficult for fighter jets to intercept in that way, but it was tracked all the time. It was located where it landed on the territory of the country," Dragomir Zakov said.

The District Prosecutor's Office in Targovishte is investigating the case, pre-trial proceedings have been initiated. If identified and convicted, the perpetrators face 10 years of imprisonment.