Surviving Pilot Says Turkey Issued No Warning Before Shooting down Russian Warplane

Russians stick placards reading slogans such as `Erdogan is a killer`, `Erdogan where are our pilots` or `Turkey is ISIS` while picketing the Turkish Embassy in Moscow, Russia, 25 November 2014. EPA/BGNES

The rescued pilot surviving pilot of the Russian warplane downed by Turkey has said that no warnings of airspace violation were issued by Turkish Air Force.

The surviving pilot of  the Su-24 bomber has told Rossiya-1 TV channel that there was no possibility for his plane to enter the Turkish airspace as the weather was clear and the jet was flying at an altitude of 6,000 meters.

"All our mission flight was in my personal full control until the explosion of the missile," he said on Wednesday, according to TASS.

"In fact there were no warnings either via radio communication or optically. There were no contacts at all," pilot navigator Captain Konstantin Murakhtin said. “That's why we were keeping our combat course as usual”.

Turkey, however, has said that it has warned the Su-24 to change course.

The Russian warplane was shot down on Tuesday by a missile fired from a Turkish F-16 fighter jet close to the border with Syria and fell in flames on Syrian territory. The two pilots ejected the falling plane.

Flight commander, Lt. Col. Oleg Peshkov, was shot dead by militants from the ground while parachuting to safety, the Russian military said earlier.    

Turkey has released audio of its communication with the Su-24, saying it was warned to change course 10 times in the space of five minutes as it neared the edge of Syrian airspace.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!