Officials confirmed on Thursday that the pilot of a fighter jet and seven soldiers sent to find him on a helicopter search operation were all killed in two separate crashes in eastern Romania.

The Romanian military was mourning the victims and investigating the incidents, which officials said were not the result of an attack.

What happened?

On Wednesday, a MiG-21 LanceR fighter jet was on an air patrol between the villages of Cogealac and Gura Dobrogei in eastern Romania.

According to the Defense Ministry, the pilot of the IAR 330-Puma helicopter sent to find him reported “unfavourable weather” and was called back to base before it, too, crashed. All seven soldiers on board were killed.

On Wednesday, a MiG-21 LanceR fighter jet was on an air patrol between the villages of Cogealac and Gura Dobrogei in eastern Romania.

According to the Defense Ministry, the pilot of the IAR 330-Puma helicopter sent to find him reported “unfavourable weather” and was called back to base before it, too, crashed. All seven soldiers on board were killed.

Later that day, the 31-year-old fighter jet pilot was discovered dead after the aircraft crash site near the Black Sea was discovered.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis called the crashes “a tragic night for Romanian aviation” and expressed his condolences to the victims’ bereaved families.

Military planes of the same model will be grounded while the cause of the crash is investigated, according to the Defense Ministry.

“It is premature to speculate on possible causes. Undoubtedly, there were unfavourable weather conditions, but we cannot comment at this time “General Constantin Spanu, a spokesman for the ministry, told local television.

Defense Minister Vasile Dincu also stated that there was “no evidence” that the crashes were the result of a hostile attack.

On Thursday, memorials for the crash victims were planned by Romania’s armed forces.

Have there been problems before?

The crashes were the country’s air force’s deadliest incident since 2014, when a military helicopter crash in central Romania killed eight people.

In recent years, fatal accidents involving the MiG-21 LanceR fighter jet have occurred.

A Romanian Air Force pilot died in 2018 when his plane crashed during an air show in the country’s southeast.

The Romanian Air Force continues to rely on old Soviet-era MiG jets for air patrol missions, despite efforts to modernise its aircraft.

NATO’s eastern flank

As the Ukraine-Russia conflict escalates next door, the EU and NATO member state is also on the front lines of bolstering the trans-Atlantic military alliance’s forces.

According to the UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, over 51,000 Ukrainian refugees have fled to neighbouring Romania since the conflict began last week. Romania has requested NATO reinforcements on its eastern borders as regional tensions rise.

In recent weeks, the United States has dispatched several armoured vehicles and approximately 1,000 troops to Romania.

Meanwhile, France is sending over 500 troops to the eastern flank this week.

It comes after Germany dispatched six Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft and Italy dispatched four similar planes.