Shocking Hungarian Wizz Air connection revealed in Arad air disaster – PHOTO

No one expected the plane crash near Arad that claimed the lives of an 18-year-old and his instructor to have a Hungarian connection. One party affected has already released a statement about the tragic incident.

Veteran pilot dies in Arad crash

The town of Világos holds a somber place in Hungarian history: on 13 August 1849, Hungarian troops surrendered there, led by General Artúr Görgei, to the invading Russian forces. Nearby Arad is equally mournful; it was there, on 6 October, that thirteen generals of the Hungarian Revolution were executed. The two towns are now just 30 kilometers apart by road.

But 48-year-old Vlad Zgărdău and 18-year-old Vlad Popescu chose to make the journey by small aircraft. Zgărdău was an experienced pilot with decades in the cockpit and two children he raised in Bucharest. For years, he had worked in flight training and had taken on the task of preparing Vlad Popescu, the teenage son of a local guesthouse owner in Arad, for his pilot’s license.

Plane crashed into factory yard

Details remain unclear, but the veteran pilot and his student crashed into the yard of Astra Rail Industries, a freight car manufacturer in Arad. The aircraft was completely engulfed in flames upon impact. Although the American-owned company had terminated most staff prior to the accident, some workers were still present and promptly alerted authorities, according to maszol.ro. Emergency responders were only able to confirm the pair’s deaths; the aircraft had been reduced to an unrecognisable, charred wreck.

Hungarian connection emerges in aftermath

Authorities were able to identify the victims through their phones and data found in the rental contract. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

It has since been revealed that Mr. Zgărdău had previously worked as an experienced pilot for Wizz Air out of Bucharest. He had also flown for Carpatair and Romania’s national carrier, TAROM. According to Blikk, colleagues described Zgărdău as calm, cheerful, and always smiling. Just ten minutes before the crash, the two victims took a smiling selfie, later shared by the grieving father on social media. He wrote that his son was a truly good kid who had dreams of becoming a pilot.

Wizz Air reaction

The company expressed its condolences and, in a statement sent to Blikk regarding the pilot, said: “In this tragic accident, Wizz Air has lost a highly experienced and professionally exemplary colleague. Vlad Zgardau had served the airline for 11 years, flying as a captain and also contributing to the training of cadets as an instructor pilot.” At present, an operational team is securing the accident site, while the investigation is being led by a prosecutor from the Timișoara Court of Appeal.

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