Serbian pilot Vladan Kosic Kos, picked to fly President Slobodan Milosevic to The Hague, has doed

Photo: Salinger Igor

Sad news vertebrates across Serbia: Colonel Vladan "Kos" Kosic, a legendary pilot, a long-time member of the State Security (DB) and former commander of the Helicopter Unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Serbia (MUP), has died.

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Kosic will be laid to rest on Thursday, in Lazarevac, a suburban Belgrade municipality.

Movie-like moves, saving regular people

Some of the most incredible and secret operations in our region are connected to the name of Vladan Kosic Kos. The public will forever remember him for the incredible historical paradox and the fateful Vidovdan: it happens to be the same pilot who flew Slobodan Milosevic to Gazimestan on June 28, 1989, and the same person who delivered him, via Tuzla in Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Vidovdan 2001. From there the Serbian president was transferred to The Hague.

During the stormy 1990s, he was in command of the last JNA (Yugoslav) helicopters that were retreating from Slovenia and Skopje (now North Macednia).

In Mostar (now Bosnia and Herzegovina), he went on to perform a movie-loke "air arrest" of a military aircraft, and as a pilot of the DB and the JSO Helicopter Squadron, he flew on the most dangerous missions in Bosnia and Krajina (Serb Krajina in Croatia).

He was twice intercepted in the air by NATO fighters, threatening to shoot him down while he was transporting the wounded - but, thanks to his extraordinary piloting skills, he managed to outwit the supersonic planes, and save the lives of his passengers.

In addition to his wartime merits, Colonel Kosic was a hero in peace as well. During the catastrophic floods of 2014, he commanded a fleet of 20 helicopters over the submerged Obrenovac, a suburban Belgrade municipality. His crew at the time set an absolute record, evacuating 2,000 people in just 12 hours of continuous flights.

Last flight to eternity

With the departure of Colonel Kosic, Serbia lost one of its most capable pilots, a man who flew through the storms of war and peace, always faithfully serving his homeland and people.

(Telegraf.rs)