MiG-29 crashes during Bulgarian – US Air Force exercise: a dramatic photo sequence shows the mishap

On Apr. 26, 2012, a Bulgarian MiG-29UB (“11” white), involved in the Thracian Star 2012 exercise with the U.S. Air Force F-16s from Aviano, crashed into a river between the southern villages of Tsarimir and Golyam Chardak near Plovdiv, in Bulgaria.

The two pilots, Maj. Doychinov and Capt. Metodiev, ejected safely from the aircraft, and no victims or injured have been reported on the ground.

A photographer, Stoian Stoianov, caught the entire scene on photographs that were posted on a Bulgarian website.

All images: Stoian Stoianov via Pan.bg

About David Cenciotti
David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.