TRAGIC DEATH Legendary Serbian pilot commits suicide

TRAGIC DEATH Legendary Serbian pilot commits suicide Video

Pilot Stevan Popov took his own life on Wednesday in Novi Sad, around 6 p.m. Popov was a hero of the civil war in SFRJ, who saved around 40.000 people.

The 68-year-old father of four, who for 23 years worked for the former national carrier JAT and for a while held a rank in the former Yugoslav army, JNA, reserves, used a pistol to commit suicide, according to this source.

Popov was known for flying a Boeing 707 from Belgrade to Sarajevo on April 17, 1992, as armed conflicts were flaring up in the Bosnian capital. This was the first in a series of daily flights that went on for a month, evacuating some 40,000 people of all ethnicities from the war zone.

The same year, when the Yugoslav football squad was prevented from playing at the European Championship in Sweden due to international sanctions imposed on the country, Popov flew the team back home, despite not receiving either the permission to take off, or to refuel.

The team arrived in Belgrade safely after many complications thanks to Popov's "courage and determination," said the website.

VIDEO> Stevan Popov, hero pilot