Bulgarian defense minister charged with impeding pilot training

Bulgarian Defense Minister Nikolay Nenchev on Wednesday was charged with impeding the training of the country's MiG-29 fighter pilots, the national prosecutor's office said in a statement.

According to prosecutors, Nenchev in his capacity as defense minister did not fulfill his duties and did not ensure aviation safety and airworthiness of the country's fighter jets from May 5, 2015 to Sept. 9, 2015.

In particular, the investigation found that the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense and Russian Aircraft Corporation "MiG" signed on April 26, 2015 two contracts for extending the life of two engines for MiG-29 and repair of two more MiG-29 engines and one aircraft aggregate box.

Nevertheless, minister Nenchev told his deputy, Desislava Yosifova, to store the contracts in her safe in the ministry and to take no action on their implementation. Nenchev continued to give the same instructions to his subordinates during the next few months, the statement said.

Because of this, the number of flight hours of Bulgarian military pilots fell to 33 in 2015, while the NATO standard was 180 flight hours per year, or at least 80 flight hours per year, the statement said.

The actions of minister Nenchev led to a reduction in the number of prepared pilots and overload of pilots who performed air policing duties, as well as inability to provide training to young MiG-29 pilots, the statement said. Enditem