Minister Naď declassifies Service Inquiry Report into Slovakia′s greatest air disaster

Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď has signed a decision to declassify the Service Inquiry Report into Slovakia′s greatest air disaster involving an Antonov AN-24 military transport aircraft on Borsó Hill, the main crash site, near the Hungarian village of Hejce, where 42 SVK servicemen and women returning from Kosovo’s KFOR died on 19 January 2006. 14 years on, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď is the first Defence Minister to have responded to the call of civic associations and entities that have strived to see the report declassified for years. The declassified report will soon be available on the SVK Ministry of Defence website.

Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “The Service Inquiry Report into the Antonov AN-24 Accident will be made available to the families and close ones of the departed soldiers as well as to the public. As a result, 42 families will be able to familiarise themselves with all aspects of the accident in which they lost their loved ones. We owe this not only to them, but also to our soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the service to their country.” He continued: “Our society has been waiting for answers to the questions left unanswered due to the classified report for long years. This has given rise to different speculations about the entire accident. That is why I have never understood the efforts of former MOD leaders to keep the report classified.” However, due to the particularly sensitive nature of some information, the photos of the soldiers in the medical reports and personal and medical data will not be declassified and released.