Serious Incident Involving An-2 LZ-1409 in Brusartsi, Bulgaria

Incident Overview and Classification On 28 August 2018 at 14:10 local time (11:10 UTC), a serious incident occurred involving an An-2 aircraft, registration LZ-1409, operated by “ДИ ЕМ ВИ 2010” ЕООД. The event took place in the land area of the town of Brusartsi, Montana Province, Bulgaria. The investigation was conducted under applicable international and national regulations, with the objective of identifying causes and preventing recurrence, without assigning blame or liability. ## Flight History and Operations The aircraft was conducting agricultural chemical operations, specifically spraying liquid fertilizer on a sunflower field. It had departed from an unregulated temporary airfield near Smirnenski around 14:00 local time, with the same location planned as its landing point. The aircraft had been based at this temporary site for three days prior to the incident, having moved from its base airfield near Grivitsa, Pleven Province. ## Sequence of Events During the eleventh flight of the day, the crew became distracted by starlings perched on a high-voltage power line and failed to notice a 20 kV power line in the aircraft's path. At the last moment, the crew decided to pass under the line. The aircraft struck and severed the lower conductor, resulting in significant damage to the vertical stabilizer and vertical rudder. The crew reported noticeable vibrations in the rudder controls after the impact. ## Damage and Outcome The aircraft sustained the following damage: a 93 cm section of the vertical stabilizer was severed, part of the vertical rudder was cut off, and a 15 cm section of the intercom radio antenna was severed. The 20 kV power line was also severed. No bird-strike damage was found during the inspection. The crew made a forced landing in an adjacent field. The coordinates of the forced landing site were N-43°40'28.14