Ioan Stoica

Ioan Stoica (28 November 1897 – 12 September 1926) was a Romanian aviator and aircraft mechanic. He served in Romanian military aviation from the First World War, later qualified as a pilot and became chief squadron mechanic in the 1st Aviation Group. In 1924, he was awarded the first class of the Faithful Service Medal by King Ferdinand I of Romania.

In 1925, Stoica was sent to France as part of a Romanian commission responsible for accepting aeronautical equipment. The following year he accompanied Gheorghe Bănciulescu as pilot-mechanic on an attempted non-stop flight from Paris to Bucharest in a Potez 25. The aircraft crashed in the Jeseníky Mountains of Czechoslovakia on 12 September 1926. Stoica sustained severe injuries and died while being evacuated from the crash site; Bănciulescu survived.

Early life and military service

Ioan Stoica was born on 28 November 1897 in Fofeldea, Sibiu County. He attended primary school in his native village and later studied at the School of Trades in Bucharest.

In 1916, during the First World War, Stoica volunteered for service in the Romanian Army. He initially served as an aircraft mechanic with a squadron equipped with Nieuport aircraft and subsequently attained a senior technical position within the squadron. A later account places him at Galați with a Nieuport squadron preparing to leave for the front.

His wartime and post-war work was primarily technical, but he later undertook flying training himself.

Aviation career

Stoica graduated from flying school and received Romanian pilot's licence no. 412 on 29 October 1924. He was promoted to the aeronautical grade of maestru and became chief squadron mechanic in the 1st Aviation Group.

A contemporary article in Revista Aeronautică described him as an experienced mechanic with extensive knowledge of aircraft engines.

On 13 November 1924, King Ferdinand I of Romania awarded Stoica the first class of the Faithful Service Medal. The royal decree identified him as a submaestru clasa a II-a in the 1st Reconnaissance Aviation Group.

Work in France

In 1925, Stoica was sent to France as a member of the Romanian commission responsible for accepting aeronautical equipment ordered there. Other accounts describe his period in France as an internship at the Lorraine-Dietrich works, which manufactured aircraft engines.

While in Paris, Stoica met Romanian aviator Gheorghe Bănciulescu, who was carrying out acceptance flights of Potez aircraft.

By 1926, Stoica's combination of flying qualifications and mechanical experience made him suitable to accompany Bănciulescu on the proposed Paris–Bucharest flight. A contemporary Romanian account emphasised his familiarity with the aircraft's engine.

Paris–Bucharest flight and death

In August 1926, Bănciulescu and Romeo Popescu had flown from Bucharest to Paris in connection with the Prince Bibescu Cup. For the return flight on 12 September, Stoica accompanied Bănciulescu instead of Popescu.

The aircraft was a Potez 25, registration F-AHDC and construction number 931. The intended non-stop route from Paris–Le Bourget to Bucharest passed through Strasbourg, Linz, Vienna and Budapest. Because the two men occupied separate cockpits and could not speak directly to one another in flight, they exchanged written messages by means of a pulley system installed between their positions.

The engine was started at 05:15 on 12 September and the aircraft took off at approximately 05:50. After passing Strasbourg and continuing towards Linz, the crew encountered worsening weather. Fog obstructed the intended route towards Vienna and Bănciulescu turned north-east in an attempt to avoid the weather.

A later biography reconstructs one of the crew's final written communications at approximately 10:35 as: “We are entering the fog. We are climbing.” The aircraft subsequently reached the Jeseníky Mountains and struck the main ridge from the south near Jelení studánka. The precise impact site has not been established, and surviving accounts give differing locations in the Vysoká hole area.

A contemporary Romanian account reported that the impact drove the engine backwards and caused severe injuries to Bănciulescu's legs. Stoica was thrown across the engine and suffered serious chest injuries.

Karel Hříbal and his wife Josefina were among the first people to find the wreckage. They found Stoica severely injured in or beside the wrecked aircraft and Bănciulescu approximately 15–20 metres away. A rescue party subsequently arrived from Alfrédova chata. Stoica died while being carried down from the crash site and his body was temporarily placed in a shed at the chalet.

Bănciulescu survived, although both of his legs were subsequently amputated at Rýmařov hospital.

Burial and commemoration

Stoica was initially buried in the cemetery at Rýmařov. His grave was marked by a cross bearing the inscription “Aviatiker Stoica Joan, 12 September 1926”.

During Bănciulescu's later stay in France, Stoica's remains had not yet been repatriated. The 1968 biography records Bănciulescu's intention to have him reburied in his native village near Sibiu.

On 16 January 1927, an Orthodox memorial service for Stoica was held in Fofeldea. At that time his body remained buried in Rýmařov, Czechoslovakia. Delegations from the Romanian General Aeronautical Inspectorate and aviation units attended alongside local residents, and wreaths were placed in the village church.

Bănciulescu, who was still recovering from his injuries, attended the service and delivered a memorial address in which he recounted their final flight and reviewed Stoica's life.

In 2016, the Sibiu newspaper Tribuna marked the 90th anniversary of Stoica's final flight with a biographical account of his life and aviation career.

Honours

• First class of the Faithful Service Medal – 13 November 1924.