Dionizy Bielański

On 16 July 1975, an Antonov An-2 utility biplane was shot down over Slovakia by a Czechoslovak Air Force Aero L-29 Delfin trainer while attempting to reach Austrian airspace. The aircraft had took off from Gawłówek, near Bochnia in Poland, and had been commandeered by flight instructor Dionizy Bielański, in an apparent attempt to defect to the West. The An-2 eventually crashed near the western Slovak town of Kúty, then Czechoslovakia, killing the pilot. General Wojciech Jaruzelski, then Minister of Defense of Poland and later de facto President of the country, who apparently issued the order to brought down the An-2, was charged with the death of Bielański in 2013.

Dionizy Bielański

Dionizy Bielański was born in the village of Staweczki, Volhynia region, then part of Poland, the son of Szymon and Wacława Bielański, née Lewandowska. Bielański got his first job at a textile factory in Jelenia Gora. He graduated from the Polish Air Force University in Dęblin in 1968, and was hired by the gliding school in Żar. The following year, Bielański became instructor at the Opole Aeroclub. In 1971 Bielański was approached by the Polish Secret Service, but, being not aligned with the communist regime, he rejected their offer. in 1972 he was employed by the Zakład Usług Agrolotniczych (ZUA) (State Agricultural Aviation Services) in Gdánsk to work in crop dusting. In 1973 Bielański was transferred to the Wroclaw chapter of the company. Bielański, with the excuse of a trip to Wroclaw, took off for what would be his final flight from the airfield in Gawłówek, near Bochnia, in the Lesser Poland region. It was later established that the pilot had traced a flight route over Czechoslovakia and had a list with the frequence of the Czechoslovak radio beacons on his path, to overcome any bad weather condition. He prepared for a long flight by taking on an additional 158.5 gallons of fuel. Bielański flew at a low altitude, staying within the radar shadow. His body was returned to his family in a sealed coffin, which the authorities did not allow to be opened. Dionizy Bielański was buried in the cemetery in Półwieś near Opole.