About this place
The memorial to Captain Zdeněk Hornych is a modest commemorative plaque tucked away in the forest south of Běleč nad Orlicí, near Krňovice and Třebechovice pod Orebem. It marks the exact spot where a Czechoslovak military pilot died in a fighter-bomber crash in 1964. The site sits off the main tourist trail — the usual approach is from the Obory–Hradecké lesy signposted crossroads — which makes a visit here a quiet forest walk with a genuine historical destination at the end.
Who was Captain Zdeněk Hornych?
Zdeněk Hornych was born on 28 January 1930. He served as a captain in the Czechoslovak Air Force and graduated from the Military Aviation Academy (LVA) in Hradec Králové in 1951. By the time of his death he had logged 1,249 flight hours in total, including 420 hours on the MiG-15 — a substantial amount for the era, marking him as an experienced pilot rather than a novice. He was assigned to the 28th Bomber Aviation Regiment based in Čáslav, flying with its 3rd squadron.
What happened on 7 April 1964?
At 18:07 on that day, Captain Hornych was carrying out a routine bombing exercise over a firing range south of the village of Krňovice, near Třebechovice pod Orebem. He was flying a MiG-15 SB, tail number 0552. During the attack run on a ground target, the RD-45 engine suffered a catastrophic failure — the turbine disk disintegrated, its fragments piercing the turbine casing, the rear fuel tank, and the aircraft's fuselage. Hornych ejected, but at an altitude of only 15 metres — far too low for the parachute to fully deploy. He hit the ground still strapped into the ejection seat and died instantly.
Why is the memorial located in this particular forest?
The site marks the precise location of the crash — a stretch of forest south of Krňovice, within the firing range used by the Czechoslovak Air Force for combat training exercises in the 1960s. This follows a pattern common across the Czech Republic: a simple plaque or stone placed exactly where a tragedy occurred, rather than in a cemetery or town square. As a result, the memorial has a distinctly personal, low-key character, visited mainly by local residents, mushroom foragers, and enthusiasts of military aviation history.
Who looks after the memorial today?
Since at least 2014, the site has been maintained by Mr. Vlasta Krčmář, a local resident who regularly passes through this part of the forest — including while foraging for mushrooms — and keeps the plaque from being overgrown and in reasonable condition. Private initiatives like his are the reason hundreds of similarly small memorials across the Czech Republic have survived for decades without any official institutional care.
Frequently asked questions
How do you get to the memorial to Captain Hornych? The best starting point is the Obory–Hradecké lesy tourist crossroads, from where forest trails lead to the crash site south of Krňovice, close to Třebechovice pod Orebem.
What aircraft crashed at this site? A MiG-15 SB, tail number 0552, a training and combat aircraft used by the Czechoslovak Air Force for bombing practice and ground-target gunnery exercises.
Did the pilot have a chance to survive the ejection? No. He ejected at an altitude of only 15 metres, which was too low for the parachute to open in time. He died on impact with the ground.
Is the memorial officially maintained by the military or the local municipality? There is no record of official institutional upkeep — the site has been cared for for years by a local resident, Mr. Vlasta Krčmář, which is typical for many similar aviation-crash memorials in the Czech Republic.
Are there other attractions nearby? Yes. The area lies within the Hradecké lesy (Hradec Forests) complex, popular with walkers and cyclists, featuring a network of marked trails and signposted crossroads around Běleč nad Orlicí and Třebechovice pod Orebem.
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