Operators Main article: List of Aero L-39 operators * Flag of Afghanistan Afghanistan * Flag of Algeria Algeria * Flag of Armenia Armenia * Flag of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan * Flag of Bangladesh Bangladesh * Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria * Flag of Cambodia Cambodia * Flag of Cuba Cuba * Flag of the Czech Republic Czech Republic * Flag of Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia * Flag of the German Democratic Republic East Germany * Flag of Egypt Egypt * Flag of Estonia Estonia * Flag of Ethiopia Ethiopia * Flag of Hungary Hungary * Flag of Iraq Iraq * Flag of Kazakhstan Kazakhstan * Flag of Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan * Flag of Libya Libya * Flag of Lithuania Lithuania * Flag of Nigeria Nigeria * Flag of Romania Romania * Flag of Russia Russia * Flag of Slovakia Slovakia * Flag of South Africa South Africa * Flag of the Soviet Union Soviet Union * Flag of Syria Syria * Flag of Thailand Thailand * Flag of Tunisia Tunisia * Flag of Turkmenistan Turkmenistan * Flag of Ukraine Ukraine * Flag of the United States United States * Flag of Uzbekistan Uzbekistan * Flag of Vietnam Vietnam * Flag of Yemen Yemen [edit] Incidents * 03 July 1998 Radar contact was lost as the airplane approached South Fox Island (TVC VOR 177 degree radial at 9.6 miles). One minute and 20 seconds after radar contact was lost, a fast moving primary target was tracked to a position 9 miles north of South Fox Island, where the target was lost. A search for the airplane was initiated at 2057 edt. On July 4, 1998, at 2235 edt, search operations were suspended. Both crew members are dead.[1] * 16 December 2000 During landing the pilot forgot to extend the landing gear on the downwind leg as he normally did, and he realized he had not done so late, just prior to landing. He said the landing gear touched the runway before it was fully extended and locked. According to the pilot the landing gear collapsed, and the aircraft slid on its belly to a stop on the runway, incurring substantial damage. [2] * 24 January 2001 Atlas Air Founder, Chairman and CEO Michael A. Chowdry was killed Jan. 24 when his Czech L-39 jet trainer crashed into an open field near Watkins, Colorado. Also killed was Wall Street Journal aerospace reporter Jeff Cole. Chowdry and Cole were making a previously planned flight from Front Range Airport.[3][4] * 10 February 2001 A L39 impacted terrain while performing low level aerobatics killing both on board. [5] * 02 June 2002 A L39 crashed outside Duxford airfield in the UK after overshooting the runway due to brake failure and ploughed across the M11 motorway. The pilot was killed and the second crew member suffered slight injuries [6]. * 30 May 2003 The single engine, two seat, jet airplane impacted the ground while pulling out of a low level loop. The airplane was practicing low level team aerobatics with two other similar jet airplanes. The pilot did not survive. [7] * 30 June 2003 During takeoff roll, a witness observed debris in the air around the airplane as soon as it lifted off the runway, then heard two "thump" noises from the engine followed by engine whining. The airplane continued airborne, then veered left and descended. The airplane rolled approximately 90 degrees, and the pilot ejected. The pilot did not survive. [8] * 02 July 2003 Elmo Hahn, 54, a developer and well-known pilot in Muskegon, Mich., died soon after the crash. Hahn was returning to Muskegon after filming a segment about the L-39 Albatross for CNN. He was lifting off in his Czech-built fighter-trainer and ejected from the plane, but did not survive. [9] * 24 August 2003 A L39 crashed into a house in Forest Hill, MD killing the pilot. [10] * 19 October 2004 The pilot, Rocky Stewart and his business partner, Scott Smith were flying the two-seat trainer L-39, a former Czechoslovakian military jet, to Lewiston, Idaho. Stewart reported control problems minutes after takeoff then the plane disappeared from radar. The crash site was found eight months later by hikers who waited three weeks before calling authorities about their discovery.[11][12][13] * 05 January 2005 Several witnesses observed the airplane approach the airpark, proceed over the runway low level, and initiate a go-around. During the go-around, the airplane pitched upwards and began to lose velocity. At the peak of the airplane's ascent, the airplane stalled, nosed over, and descended towards the ground. The airplane impacted the southwest corner of a 3-story residential home, located about 1/2-mile west of the airpark, and subsequently impacted the ground, where a post crash fire ensued. Pilot did not survive the crash. [14] * 05 March 2005 The pilot reported that during landing roll, the airplane overran the departure of the 5,017-foot long runway. The airplane rolled down a shallow hill, and came to rest on a road. The nose gear was collapsed. Minor Injuries. [15] * 06 June 2005 L-39 Crash landed after engine failure south of Duxford. [16] * 25 January 2006 L-39 MS Jet crashed in Ketchikan on a snowy Wednesday afternoon killing U.S. Customs pilot Stephen Freeman. The jet crashed at approximately 12:50 PM into a wooded hill where Martin Street ends, adjacent to the A&P grocery store and a small mobile home park. The pilot was repossessing the aircraft for Air USA and was returning it from Anchorage. [17] [18][19][20] * 26 February 2006 Terry Fregly of Tallahasse, Florida, and Skip Robinson of Oregon died when the Czech-made L-39 crashed into a mountain 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles. The crash happened while a crew was filming scenes for a movie.[21][22] * 9 September 2006 L-39 trainer, belonging to an Air Force academy, crashed during a flight and both pilots ejected near the town of Novokubansk in the Krasnodar Territory, about 1,000 miles south of Moscow. The flight instructor died in the crash and the cadet was picked up by a rescue team 27 minutes after the crash. [23] * 16 March 2007 An L-39 crashed at the Tico Warbird air show at Space Coast Regional Airport in Titusville, Florida, killing the pilot. [24] The pilot was identified as attorney Eilon Krugman-Kadi, 58, of Gainesville, FL, a former Israeli fighter pilot.[25] The L-39 had been built for the Soviet air force in 1980, and was demilitiarized in 1999 from Ukraine. [26] * 9 August 2007, L-39 of Air Force of Russia crashed near Maykop. Air plane crew successful ejected.[2][3] * 13 September 2007 Air race pilot Brad Morehouse of Afton, Wyoming was killed when his L-39 crashed in a race at the Reno Air Races. According to newspaper reports, it appeared that pilot lost control when the plane was caught in wake turbulence generated by other racers. [27]