Downed jet pilot claims “There was no warning from Turkey”

By Park Sae-jin Posted : November 26, 2015, 08:35 Updated : November 26, 2015, 08:35

[Captured image of Haberturk TV's official Twitter account]



Turkey released a recording of Turkish jet fighter pilot warning a Russian warplane suspected of invading Turkish airspace on Wednesday. But a Russian pilot, who survived the attack after ejecting out of the burning jet, said there was no contact.

According to the recording, Turkish pilot warned the Russian by saying “change your heading” in English, but with no response to the call, Turkish F-16 shot downed the Russian jet fighter on Monday.

The Russian jet was hit hard. Both pilots ejected and landed with parachutes safely. The warplane crashed into a wooded area about 4 kilometers into Syrian border. Only a pilot was rescued by Russian commandos and Syrian army since another was shot dead on the ground by Syrian Turkmen fighters.

Soon after the releasing of the recording by Turkish military official, Konstantin Murakhtin, one who survived the crash, claimed, “There were no warnings, either by radio or visually. There was no contact of any form.”

He also denied entering Turkish airspace “I could see perfectly on the map and on the ground where the border was and where we were,” He said, “There was no danger of entering Turkey.”

Russia is repeatedly saying that its warplane did not violate Turkish airspace since the crash. Vladimir Putin, the Russian President called Turkey “accomplices of terrorists” and its act of downing an aircraft “a stab in the back,” Monday. Putin, enraged, warned the Turkish government, “There will be consequences.”

As Turkey and Russia are finding it hard to come to terms with the downing of the Russian jet fighter, it is likely to become a long argument between two countries.

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