Pilot of the aircraft carrying president von der Leyen experienced GPS issues as they approached Plovdiv airport, Bulgaria Sun Aug 31.
Recordings of tower and plane comms are clear.
Transponder reported good GPS-signal and is likely separate from the instrument pilots used.
Recordings of tower and plane comms are clear.
Transponder reported good GPS-signal and is likely separate from the instrument pilots used.
Half an hour after first reporting GPS-issues the aircraft of von der Leyen is taxiing on Plovdiv airport as the pilot repeats "we had GPS-issues" and thanks the flight controller for the support.
Full recordings with additional comms available at liveatc.net
Full recordings with additional comms available at liveatc.net
From this we can derive that the pilot did *experience* GPS/GNSS-issues.
Given the area and years of jamming it is likely to have been caused by the common jamming of area.
Other explanations are possible.
Given the area and years of jamming it is likely to have been caused by the common jamming of area.
Other explanations are possible.
Some institutions/people yesterday concluded from the ADS-b data that there were no issues with GPS. In my opinion that was a faulty conclusion taken on a very weak basis.
There were likely several receivers on board and the one our pilot looked at seem to have had issues. Or the pilot made a mistake, we cant say for certain with this. The flight data recorder likely can though =)
It is realistically possible it was a directed attack on v d Leyen but to say that we need more data, unlikely to surface but hopefully looked into by Bulgarian services/military.
This thread was modified because it contained a faulty URL to liveatc.net leading to some scam site. Sorry for any harm done. This is a correct url: liveatc.net
"The episode underscores a broader issue: in the race to publish, fact-checking—even on technical matters easily verifiable with public tools—was abandoned. And when agencies like ANP replicate an error, the entire media ecosystem risks amplifying misinformation."
➡️
➡️
Quote above is from this excellent article with a timeline of events based on ATC-recordings.
feitoffake.wordpress.com/2025/09/02/how…
feitoffake.wordpress.com/2025/09/02/how…
Here is the full communication between von der Leyen's aircraft and Plovdiv tower. The full length is 30 mins, I edited away silence, static and some completely other plane speaking unintelligible. You can also find it transcribed in article above.
According to the Bulgarian national news agency the Bulgarian government states that there was 'disappearance of GPS signal' and 'a neutralization of the satellite signal'.
Caveat machine translation, but repeated widely so I find it likely to be a correct translation.
Caveat machine translation, but repeated widely so I find it likely to be a correct translation.
In todays press brief von der Leyen spokesperson @Pinhopau seem to read verbatim and states:
"Here we can only refer to those who have really first hand this information and, as I mentioned, these are notably the Bulgarian Air traffic controllers who issued a statement....
"Here we can only refer to those who have really first hand this information and, as I mentioned, these are notably the Bulgarian Air traffic controllers who issued a statement....
@Pinhopau "according to which, during the European Commission President's flight to Plovdiv, the satellite signal providing data to the aircraft's GPS navigation system was disrupted. While approaching Plovdiv Airport, the GPS signal disappeared....."
@Pinhopau "To ensure flight safety, air traffic control immediately proposed an alternative landing approach using ground based navigation systems. It's the Instrument Landing System.
So this is what we can refer to. It's those who see on the spot what happened exactly."
So this is what we can refer to. It's those who see on the spot what happened exactly."
@Pinhopau I have not been able to locate the original statement that @Pinhopau seem to be reading from.
@Pinhopau But in conclusion: pilot states GPS-issues, Bulgarian government confirms, EU commission confirms.
There are technical and other details not matching but who knows who introduced eg "circled for an hour". That's a question for @FT
There are technical and other details not matching but who knows who introduced eg "circled for an hour". That's a question for @FT
@Pinhopau @FT But to say that nothing happened after looking at one, single source (ADS-b data) is quite rich given that authoritative sources, including those who ran the plane are saying something was amiss.
@Pinhopau @FT The plane utilized by VDLeyen used to be owned by Gazprom (2016-22) and is now controlled by a shady Belgian allegedly deeply in bed with Russian oligarchs, known for his fight against corporate transparency.
He started Luxaviation with a former KGB agent in 2008. Sources ➡️
He started Luxaviation with a former KGB agent in 2008. Sources ➡️
@Pinhopau @FT Belgian Minister of Defense Ludivine Dedonder saw no security issues with leasing the state jets from this bunch back in 2023.
tijd.be/dossiers/de-ve…
occrp.org/en/project/ben…
tijd.be/dossiers/de-ve…
occrp.org/en/project/ben…
@Pinhopau @FT Note that jet ownership details has been dug up by other people. They shall be credited and I am also personally not competent enough to fully judge the veracity, read the articles and judge yourself.
@Pinhopau @FT Plane utilized by VDLeyen leaving Moscow for Helsinki, Feb 22 2022, two days ahead of invasion of Ukraine. Not to be seen on the next six months.
Last days a shuttle for von der Leyen as she visits the "front states". adsbexchange.com
Last days a shuttle for von der Leyen as she visits the "front states". adsbexchange.com
@Pinhopau @FT Loosely related product page and images for the 'imposibru' types.
rfusion.co.uk/jammer-systems
rfusion.co.uk/jammer-systems
@Pinhopau @FT
https://x.com/MrKevinRothrock/status/1962987082663789032
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
