One pilot died and the other one was seriously injured after the small planes they were controlling collided in the air in the Frătăuții Vechi commune in Suceava county, in North-Eastern Romania.

The incident occurred during a training flight for an airshow that was supposed to be organized in Suceava on Saturday, August 4. The show was cancelled.

A video of the incident shows the moment of the incident. The two planes were flying over the airfield when one of them starts losing altitude, falling over the second plane. One of the pilots died while the second one is hospitalized in serious condition. Both were experienced pilots.

Suceava Police opened a criminal investigation for manslaughter and personal injury in this case.

Two other plane crashes occurred in Romania in recent weeks. A MiG-21 LanceR crashed during an airshow at the Borcea Air Base in Southern Romania at the begging of July. The 36-year old pilot died and witnesses said he stayed on board to fly the plane away from the crowd although he could have catapulted himself. Then, over a week later, a Romanian-made IAR 99 – Şoim military plane crashed Bacău county, in Eastern Romania. Both pilots managed to catapult.

Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com