UPDATE Fetesti plane crash: Pilot confirmed dead

Bucharest, July 7 /Agerpres/ - The pilot of the MiG 21 LanceR that crashed Saturday in Fetesti was killed in the accident, the Ministry of National Defence announced.

''Lieutenant commander Florin Rotaru, the pilot of the MiG 21 LanceR that crashed in Fetesti, was killed in the accident. He was 36 years old and was serving as chief pilot in the 861st Fighter Aviation Squadron, 86th Fetesti Air Base. The plane piloted by lieutenant commander Florin Rotaru crashed Saturday, July 7, around 13:30 hrs, after having performed in an air show organized at the Borcea military airfield," the Ministry of National Defence said, offering condolences to the bereaved family.

This news sadly contradicts initial reports that the pilot had managed to catapult.

Prosecutors of the military prosecution office attached to the Bucharest Military Tribunal started a criminal investigation into the accident. AGERPRES (RO - author: Roberto Stan, editor: Cristina Tatu; EN - author/editor Simona Klodnischi)