Bulgaria hunts for mystery pilot who flew across several European countries
Bulgarian authorities are searching for a mysterious pilot who flew unauthorised across several European countries.
Defence forces in the country were placed on high alert on Wednesday evening when a small aircraft was detected in its airspace.
The two-seater Beechcraft plane had apparently departed from Hungary and flown over Poland and Slovakia, according to Interior Minister Boiko Rashkov.
The 60-year-old aircraft was finally found on the runway of a private airport in the northeast area of Buhovtsi. It was covered by a tarpaulin and there was no trace of the crew.
The suspicious aircraft had no flight plan, had deactivated its transponders and did not respond to radio messages or visual signals, Bulgaria’s defence ministry said in a statement.
The Beechcraft plane was intercepted by four Hungarian and Romanian fighter jets then escorted until it entered Bulgarian airspace.