Rescued jet navigator denies Turkish warnings
Ankara releases audio recordings of alerts
MOSCOW: The Russian navigator who parachuted out of a warplane shot down by Turkey said there had been no warning before a missile slammed into the aircraft, giving him and the pilot no time to dodge the missile.
Ankara yesterday released audio recordings of what it claims are the warnings sent to the aircraft.
The navigator, Capt Konstantin V Murakhtin, was rescued by special forces troops who followed his radio beacon and negotiated his release from the insurgents who were holding him.
“There were no warnings from either the radio channel or visually. There was no contact at all,” he told Interfax news agency from the Russian air base outside Latakia, Syria. The pilot, Lt Col Oleg A Peshkov, was killed by ground fire from insurgents as his parachute descended.
Mr Murakhtin’s account directly contradicted that of Turkish officials, who said the pilots were warned 10 times in five minutes not to transgress into Turkish airspace, even the sliver of territory that the plane crossed in 17 seconds. The Russians have been adamant that the warplane was shot down over Syria, not Turkey. It crashed about 4km from the border, Russia said, and the pilots parachuted into Syria.
Turkey has released audio recordings of what it says are the Turkish military’s warnings to the pilot of the Russian plane. The recordings made available yesterday indicate the plane was warned several times that it was approaching Turkey’s airspace and asked to change course. The voice is heard saying: “This is Turkish Air Force speaking on guard. You are approaching Turkish airspace. Change your heading south immediately.”
The plane’s surviving pilot denied the jet veered into Turkey’s airspace and said there were no warnings. Mr Murakhtin said he and Peshkov had stuck to their combat flight plan and were flying their bomber in “normal mode” when the attack occurred.
Given the speed at which they were travelling, he said, the F-16 should have flown a parallel course as a standard visual warning.
“There was not even a threat of crossing into Turkey,” Mr Murakhtin said.
The Russian defence minister announced it would deploy its most powerful air defence system in Syria.
In Washington, a senior US military official said radar tracking data showed the aircraft transited Turkish airspace, as Turkey has insisted.
Foreign Minister Sergey V Lavrov said Russia had “no intention” of going to war against Turkey but criticised Turkey as a haven for terrorists.
“We have enough information to confirm that this was a preplanned act,” Mr Lavrov said. Turkey was just looking for a “pretext” to shoot down the plane, he said.
Mr Lavrov even suggested the US might have had a role, as Turkey fired a USmade missile.
The accord the US negotiated with Russia on preventing accidental air force clashes over Syria was meant to cover allies such as Turkey, he said.
It was clear Nato members were critical of Turkey behind closed doors, he said, yet there was no public remorse shown.