A POLISH jet “lost control” over the Black Sea after a Russian fighter jet performed “dangerous and aggressive manoeuvres”, Poland said today.
Poland’s border force said the Sukhoi Su-35 plane did not make radio contact before “approaching the border guard plane three times without keeping to the required safety distance”.
Russian Sukhoi Su-35 jet fighters (file photo)[/caption]
The Polish plane, an L-410 Turbolet, experienced turbulence and the crew temporarily “lost control of the aircraft and lost altitude”, the border force said.
It added the Russian plane flew just in front of the nose of the aircraft and crossed its path at a distance of “around five metres”.
Government spokesman Piotr Muller told Polish television it was a “planned provocation by Russia”.
On Saturday, Romania’s defence ministry, which first reported the move, condemned Moscow’s “aggressive and dangerous” behaviour.
The Polish aircraft landed safely in Romania afterwards.
“The crew, including mainly two pilots, showed excellent skills and especially great composure, thanks to which they managed to land safely,” Poland’s border force said.
Romanian and Spanish planes were put on “pre-alert” by Nato, the Romanian statement added.
It took place “in international airspace over the Black Sea,” 37 miles east of Romania’s airspace, the defence ministry said.
“This incident is further evidence of the provocative approach of the Russian Federation in the Black Sea,” it said.
It comes just weeks after Russian fighter jets dumped fuel on a US Reaper drone before crashing into it.
The drone was taken down while flying over the Black Sea near Russian-occupied Crimea and the Ukraine frontline.
A Russian Su-27 jet struck the propeller of the MQ-9 Reaper drone – forcing it to crash into the sea, the US European Command said.
Prior to the collision, which happened at 7am local time, two Su-27s had “dumped fuel on and flew in front of the MQ-9” in a “reckless” and “unprofessional” manner.
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