The death of Stefanik was used as the basis for political propaganda at the time. One conspiracy theory proposed that a Czech anti-aircraft artillery unit had fired on the aircraft - either because they mistook the Italian markings for Hungarian ones, or because they had done so as part of a conspiracy to kill Stefanik, to prevent him from instigating proposed changes in the Czech government. Some supposed conspiracies of this type are still circulated by nationalists. These allegations have never been proven and lack any historical basis.