The SSU has concluded the investigation of the case of intruder plane intercepted by the Armed Forces of Ukraine MiG-29 in August this year. 

A pilot took off on a decommissioned An-2 from non-registered runway ‘Kosiv’. He had not agreed his itinerary as required by law, which could lead to collision with other aircraft or damage of infrastructure if the plane crashes due to malfunction or poor navigation skills.  

The air defenсe of Ukraine detected the plane as it was heading towards the state border in Chernivtsi region.

As there was no information about this flight in the air traffic services, the plane did not give mandatory identification signals, and the crew did not get in contact, the incident was classified as a violation of the state airspace.

The Air Command ‘West’ of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, to respond to the identified threat, dispatched MiG-29 fighter from Lutsk airfield. The fighter pilot performed search and visual recognition and forced the violating aircraft to land.

The pre-trial investigation established that the unauthorized flight was carried out by a 45-year-old resident of Kolomyia. The man, having neither training, nor license, decided to pilot the An-2 aircraft, made 49 years ago and decommissioned. He took off from the non-registered ‘Kosiv’ runway, which is not cleared for use.

The pilot was notified of suspicion of violation of air operation rules. The proceedings with the indictment have been forwarded to court.

The SSU Office in Ivano-Frankivsk carried out the investigation together with the National Police under the supervision of the regional prosecutor’s office.