Details about downed Turkish jet revealed

ANKARA

U.S. deep-sea exploration vessel R/V Nautilus, finds the wreckage of downed Turkish jet and bodies of two pilots at the 8.6 nautical miles off the Syrian coast. AA photo

The Turkish jet shot down by Syria on June 22 did not breach Syrian air space for a second time, Turkish Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz said in a written statement on Aug. 24.

The test flight of the downed F4 phantom RF-4E warplane, was a routine flight, according to the statement released in response to a parliamentary question from main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Hüseyin Aygün. “The last coordinate point of F4 Phantom was 354822K-353321D, and the jet lost contact with the radar at the 354826K-353759D coordinates,” said the statement, Turkish daily Sabah reported. The jet breached Syrian air space at 11.42C, and the ending time of this breach was 11.47C, according to the statement. Air craft RF-4E kept in continuous contact with the control center via radio throughout its flying route, since it departure from the Erhaç Military Airport at 10.30C. Its last communication with the control center was at 11.50C.

The plane did not go toward Syrian air space for the second time, and instead went on flying in international air space, the statement said. It is technically possible that plane crashed after flying 9 kilometers toward the Syrian airspace, but it is unknown whether the plane conserved its physical integrity or not during that time.

Meanwhile, on Aug. 24, Gen. Hayri Kıvrıkoğlu paid a visit to the Kilis province on the Syria border. Kıvrıkoğlu, along with Gen. Galip Mendi and other military officials, visited a military unit on the border, and also met with Kilis governor Süleyman Tapsız.