site.btaSite of June 9 Crash into Sea of MiG-29 Fighter Established, Flight Recorder Still Not Found

Varna, on the Black Sea, June 17 (BTA) - The location where a
Bulgarian Air Force MiG-29 jet fighter crashed in the Black Sea
in the early hours of June 9 during a nighttime training mission
 has been confirmed, Commander of the Air Force, Rear Admiral
Kiril Mihailov, said on Thursday. The pilot, Major Valentin
Terziev, 47, died in the crash.

Wreckage from the aircraft has been located, including parts of
the landing gear and of the engine. Debris from the crashed
aircraft is scattered across a large area on the sea bed,
Mihailov said. He said that the exploration of the area of the
crash continues but that the fighter's flight recorder has not
been found yet. The search operation is on an area of one square
 kilometer and more than 70 m deep in the sea. Mihailov expects
the operation to continue for a long time and said that the
chance of finding the flight recorder is "very, very slim".

Approached by a reporter, Mihailov said that the Air Force has
enough equipment and capabilities for the search operation so
that no aid is needed from other countries. RY/ZH