Utility Aircraft Crashes Near Bucharest, Pilots Unharmed
The aircraft, used for irrigations and to spread herbicides, crashed onto a fruit and vegetables warehouse, some 750 meters away from people’s homes, brigade general Olimpiodor Antonescu of the Romanian Gendarmerie told MEDIAFAX.
The two pilots didn’t have serious injuries and refused medical assistance, said doctor Bogdan Oprita, head of the Bucharest mobile emergency service SMURD.
Firefighters managed to put out the fire shortly after the accident, said Claudiu Avram, head of the local emergency inspectorate. Upon impact, the engine of the Antonov AN2 aircraft caught fire, and the blaze extended onto the rest of the plane, destroying it entirely, he added.
The Transport Ministry technical commission will investigate the cause of the accident, Mircea Ciuca, head of the ministry’s air transport investigation department, told MEDIAFAX. He added two investigators will talk to the pilots to get all the data they need, as with the aircraft burnt entirely, it is very difficult to collect evidence on site.