A small, propeller-driven aeroplane crashed during an aerial demonstration near Börgönd, Hungary on Sunday, 10 September. The 67-year-old pilot and his 37-year-old son, who was on board as a passenger, sadly passed away upon impact. An additional four people (according to the initial reports, three) were seriously injured on the ground, having been burned significantly in the ensuing explosion. They were transported to the nearest hospital by emergency responders. A car parked nearby was also severely damaged.
The organizers of the 28th instalment of their annual airshow in Börgönd, colloquially known as ‘Aeroplane Day’, the Albatrosz Aeroplane Club (Albatrosz Repülő Egyesület) cancelled the rest of the programmes scheduled for the day. According to a police statement, the thousands in the spectating crowd managed to leave the site in an orderly fashion.
András Cser-Palkovics, Fidesz mayor of the nearby town and county capital Székesfehérvár, posted to his Facebook page about the tragedy, saying:
‘We have lost two pilots, and four attendees of the Aeroplane Day were injured. As one of the sponsors of the event, for our municipality, our town, and for myself personally, it is hard to put into words the pain of what happened today. We are with the loved ones of the pilots and the injured in our prayers and thoughts…This is why we admire the aviators of Aeroplane Day, that is why we look up to the sky on Aeroplane Days, because the courage of the pilots and the flight of their aircraft, are pushing the boundaries. Thus, they are doing something that elevates a man to a hero.
This, however, carries evident dangers, and unfortunately, sometimes danger wins. Today at Börgönd, danger won against two accomplished pilots, against two great and brave men. May God rest their souls.’
One of the spectators was able to get the tragedy on video. The footage has been widely shared online, and reuploaded multiple times to different platforms.
The video shows a 1951 North American T-28A Trojan registered HA-RDM spinning out of control mid-air,
then taking a nosedive and hitting the ground near a parking lot, where it explodes upon impact. The tragic story has even been picked up by major international news organizations such as the Associated Press and ABC News.
Criminal Investigation Impending
In an unexpected turn of events, the Fejér County Police announced in a statement on Tuesday that
they are launching an investigation into the matter, on suspicion of criminal air traffic endangerment.
It is unclear who the primary suspects in this investigation are, whether it is the organizers or not. All we learn from the official statement is that the police had experts involved in the investigation.
Coincidentally, only days before this incident, another aviation accident happened in the western part of the country. A police helicopter crashed into Lake Balaton on 7 September near Balatonszéplak, Somogy County. Thankfully, this crash did not result in any fatalities, as the participants of the nearby sailing competition came to the rescue of the people on board.
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