09 Oct Maj. Gen. Zlatko Zlatev
General Manager of Bulgarian National Air Operator, Watch as Maj. Gen. Zlatko Zlatev and the Air Rescue crew from the 24th AirBase of the Bulgarian Air Force demonstrate a human extraction operation using the Eurocopter Cougar AS-532. This thrilling video showcases the practical descent, rappel, and exfiltration techniques employed in high-stakes rescue missions.
Deputy commander of Joint Forces Command, of the Bulgarian army, graduated from Higher Air Forces College of the Military Academy “G. Benkovski“ in 1989 with a degree in” pilot-pilot for the Air Force, “BA” D. St. Rakovski“ in 1998 and General Staff Course of the academy in 2007. His military career began in 1989 and successively passed through the main command positions. In 2010 he served as a senior officer in air operations in Thessaloniki, Greece. From 2010 to February 2015 Gen. Zlatev was 24th Air Base – Commander. From February 21, 2015 he was appointed Deputy Commander of the Joint Forces Command (SCS) and acting (VRID) commander of SCS to June 30, 2015.
As Commander of Air Base 24, he flew with Ivan Kristoff to conducted cross training.
“The idea of Ivan Kristoff is extremely interesting, contemporary and relevant. We performed joint flights in all variants of descent from a military helicopter in 2002 with a joint crew of 24 airbase and Spiderman Ivan Kristoff set two world for rappelling and ascending on a rope over 100 meters from a helicopter, the first of its kind.
They are sanctioned “The Guinness Book of World Records”. I had the honor of practicing with him a new kind of descent from a military helicopter “Cougar“, which refracts imposed standards when working with a rope suspended from the helicopter. These were the first steps to create a new methodology for building global standardization program for training of rescuers by helicopter. For future benefit of this program it is appropriate for it to be unified on the basis of international experience but apply to local destinations, heights and pitches to different types of helicopters. For this purpose it is necessary to conduct an international forum for emergency response to promote the idea and share international experience with the best specialists and to provoke this initiative to sift best to be tested in real conditions and withstand the test of time.
The creation of an elite rescue unit that can deal with the four new worlds of rescue by land, water, air and dealing with hybrid threats is an exceptional initiative that will lead to raising the level of assistance to the population, coping with global challenges caused by people and nature and to increase the prestige of Bulgaria worldwide and will show that the country still has advanced thinking, enterprising and committed to the cause of people.
This unit can be incorporated elements of Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Interior, the Red Cross, Mountain Rescue Service and others, using both international experience and innovation to the participants in this project.“, says Gen. Zlatko Zlatev
