A plane triggered the air defences of six NATO members before landing on Thursday (9 June) in a small airfield in Bulgaria, whereby the pilot and passengers promptly disappeared.
Fighter jets of several countries were scrambled to intercept the mysterious plane, trying to initiate contact with the pilot, without success.
The plane was reportedly spotted by the Hungarian and Romanian Air Force, which scrambled F-16 jets to intercept the Beechcraft. Upon entering Bulgarian airspace, the country’s air force was also activated.
The Beechcraft entered Bulgaria from the northern city of Vidin, where it landed for refuelling, but it is not known precisely where it was refuelled.
The Ministry of Defense announced that the plane entered the airspace of Bulgaria without an approved flight plan shortly after 7 pm on Wednesday.
He said the plane took off Lithuania and passed through seven countries, including Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Serbia, before landing in Bulgaria. Six of them, except Serbia, are NATO members.
The media quoted the director of the airport in Debrecen, Hungary, who reportedly said the Beechcraft also landed at a small airport in Hungary. Reportedly five or six people got off and refuelled the plane using jerrycans. The Hungarian police tried to stop them, but they were swift and took off quickly.
The plane landed at a local airfield usually reserved for agricultural aircraft. It was found abandoned with a still-warm engine.
The prosecutor’s office in the Bulgarian city of Targovishte launched an investigation.
