Friends, relatives and colleagues of the helicopter pilot who died near the village of Garmen are shocked by the tragedy. On Friday morning, the machine piloted by 62-year-old Georgi Georgiev took off from the stadium in the village for Tsalapitsa. However, at one in the afternoon it became clear that it had not landed, was lost from the radars and there was no contact with the pilot. Last night around 19:00 the helicopter was discovered in a ravine, in a difficult-to-access area about 1-2 km from the village. The pieces were scattered more than 70 meters away, Georgiev’s body was also discovered.
He is among the most experienced pilots in the company, with 40 years of experience. He was born in Svilengrad, but lives in Plovdiv.
“Today, a worthy man and a pilot, who assisted the aerial photography of the excavations of Kovachevsko Kale, passed away for free. Rest in peace, Zhoro! Your phone is not answering! Rest in peace and come to think in my sleep. I miss you!”, he wrote in social networks his relative. Friends describe him as a wonderful man, husband, father and grandfather. “I can’t believe it! Rest in peace Jore! Condolences to the relatives. A pure soul who helped and gave of herself!” wrote another friend. “Eternal flight, dream comer! Thanks for the honor of meeting you! You couldn’t fake it this time! May it be bright and beautiful below you! I will miss you!!! Eternal flight and clear skies” are other warm words for the deceased.
The helicopter of a company from Varna had been spraying forests in the area against pests for the previous three days, and on Friday morning it started to go home.
The pilot did not have 5 meters to survive, commented the expert on air accidents Hristo Hristov, who was at the scene of the accident. The most likely cause is loss of altitude. “We saw pieces of sheet metal smashed into small pieces. The situation in which the collapse occurred is very steep – with a 60 degree slope. The helicopter approached, but the side mist system got stuck in a tall pine tree. As a result, the helicopter crashed nose down,” Hristov added. The dense fog in the area at the time of the crash also contributed to the accident.
“Most likely the reason is a temporary loss of orientation in a very dense fog. He did not gain enough height for this bad weather. He was looking for a way to gain height and get out above the fog, if he had managed at least another 5 m he would have passed over the tree . We couldn’t find it immediately because of the dense vegetation,” the expert added.
