”Bandi Was A Balanced, Calm Guy”

"We had known each other since we were classmates at college. We had been classmates for five years and room-mates for three years" – told a colleague of the Lieutenant Colonel to honvedelem.hu. He has asked us not to reveal his name only the fact that they were good friends: they finished their studies not in the Soviet Union, but in a class where they were the first students graduating from the Kosice College of Aviation Engineering, in the former Czechoslovakia.

"We completed our studies on the MiG–21 fighter in October, 1989. That time we had to part because Bandi went to Kecskemét and I went to Taszár" – remembered one of his colleagues, then he said it was not a final ’breakup’ because they followed the events of each other’s career, just like aviators traditionally do.

"When the MiG–29 fighters arrived to Kecskemét, Bandi was among the first who were trained to pilot this type. He really enjoyed it and he piloted them successfully. His colleagues liked him too. He was a balanced and calm guy, and everyone liked to work with him" – told us the good friend. It turned out that after the Taszár airbase was closed, the career of the two pilots met once more. They flew together again – Lieutenant Colonel Janicsek piloted a MiG-29, and the former room-mate piloted an Albatros.

"Then Bandi went to Canada to be an instructor. Based on his qualities, he seemed to be the best choice for this position because NFTC programme instructors have to teach young candidates to pilot and keep the fighters in the air and also have to be role models for these future pilots, from whom they can learn how to be (self-) disciplined and professional, the prerequisite of aviation. Well, Bandi was exactly that kind of man" – told us the colleague, who also mentioned that he was in the air too on the day of the accident, moreover, he heard Lieutenant Colonel Janicsek reporting to the control tower after taking off. He did not think he had heard his voice for the last time…

When landing his own fighter, he heard the bad news: an Albatros had been seen fallen down by eyewitnesses.

"In the first few minutes we did not know anything, then we got more and more information. Many said that they had seen him catapulting. That time we were hoping that they have survived even if the aircraft was destroyed. But finally bad news arrived, the policemen investigating the scene reported that they had found two bodies at the wreck. This totally shocked everybody at the base. Our feelings cannot be expressed in words since we just had a few words before taking off and as usual, we were pulling each others’ legs" – remembered the good friend, though his voice broke several times.

According to the former college room-mate, it will be difficult for everyone to get over this accident. They will need many months to get used to the emptiness that was left after Lieutenant Colonel András Janicsek. Naturally the hardest part is waiting for his family – they lost the head of the family, the husband and the father. As the former colleague said: "Here at the airfield many of us are praying for them to have enough strength to process this tragedy!"