7 April 2001
Brest authorities release German pilot

 Gerhard Folke, a Russian-born citizen of Germany whose light plane made an unauthorized landing in Brest, Belarus, on April 1, has been released from custody, promising to report for further questioning if summoned, Valery Orsik, a member of the investigative team, has told BelaPAN.
Air controllers in Brest denied Mr. Folke permission to land on the ground that the local airport was under repairs. He landed anyway, sending out distress signals. He is now charged with violating international flight rules, which entails a fine or up to six months in jail under Belarus' Criminal Code.
It is likely to take the Belarusian Transport Prosecutor's Office up to two months to investigate the case, Mr. Orsik said. According to him, the German insists on his innocence and has rejected a Belarusian lawyer. The officer confirmed that Mr. Folke did encounter a generator failure over eastern Poland, which disabled his navigation and radio equipment. The pilot had been in Brest before and managed to bring his plane in using a compass.
The German plans to leave Brest later this week as soon as his generators are repaired, Mr. Orsik said.