This was published 8 years ago
Russian jet shot down: Surviving crew member of downed fighter jet says Turkey gave 'no warning'
By Jack Stubbs
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- Russia: Downing of jet a 'planned provocation'
- Analysis: Did Turkey overreact?
- Downing of jet could push us back to Cold War relations
- Russian fighter jet shot down by Turkish jets
Moscow: The surviving crew member of a Russian warplane shot down by Turkey said on Wednesday the plane received no warnings from the Turkish Air Force and did not fly over Turkish airspace, Russian news agencies reported.
Turkey shot down the Russian plane near the Syrian border on Tuesday, saying it had violated its airspace, in one of the most serious publicly acknowledged clashes between a NATO member country and Russia for half a century.
Navigator Konstantin Murakhtin was rescued by Russian and Syrian special forces after ejecting from the plane but the pilot was shot dead by rebels as he parachuted to the ground.
"There were no warnings, either by radio or visually. There was no contact whatsoever," TASS quoted Murakhtin as saying at a hospital in the Syrian province of Latakia, where Russia has an airbase.
"If they wanted to warn us, they could have shown themselves by taking a parallel course. There was nothing. And the missile hit the tail of our aircraft suddenly, we did not see it in time to do an anti-missile manoeuvre."
Ankara has said the plane was repeatedly warned to change course after encroaching on Turkish airspace but Moscow has denied that its warplane flew over Turkish territory.
The order of events and route the Russian fighter jet took is hotly contested between Moscow and Ankara.
Audio clips reported to be from the Turkish authorities of the warnings made to the Russian warplane have been circulated to the media.
Turkey and Russia have both released maps of the region with different flight tracks of the downed jet, too.
Murakhtin also said his jet did not leave Syrian airspace.
"I could see perfectly on the map and on the ground where the border was and where we were. There was no danger of entering Turkey," he was quoted by Interfax as saying.
Reuters
There were no warnings, either by radio or visually. There was no contact whatsoever
Navigator Konstantin Murakhtin