Russian SU27 crashes in Lithuania

Vytautas

Junior Member
Russian Fighter Jet Crashes in Lithuania

Created: 15.09.2005 18:05 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 18:31 MSK

MosNews



A Russian Su-27 fighter crashed on Lithuania territory on Thursday. The pilot managed to eject safely.

The jet fighter was part of a group of Russian Air Force and Air Defense aircraft conducting a flight to the Russian Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad.

During the flight the pilot of the Su-27 announced that he had lost orientation, possibly because of a malfunction in his navigation equipment, Russia’s Defense Ministry information directorate was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying. He expended all the excess fuel and then ejected from the aircraft.

The plane crashed some 55 kilometers north of Kaunas and the pilot is now being interviewed by the Lithuanian authorities. No casualties or damage were reported on the ground following the crash.


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Lithuania Refuses to Release Pilot of Crashed Russian Fighter

Created: 16.09.2005 11:32 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 11:32 MSK

MosNews



Despite an apology from Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov for the crash of a Russian Su-27 fighter jet on Lithuanian territory and a promise to his colleague Gediminas Kirkilas that Moscow will pay for all the damage done, Lithuania refuses to release the Russian pilot or to return the jet’s black box to Russian defense authorities, Interfax news agency reported.

After the Lithuanian Defense Ministry informed the Russian side about Thursday’s crash, the Russian embassy in Vilnius delivered a note asking the Lithunian Foreign Ministry to return the black box, but officials refused to comment on the issue until a pre-trial investigation was finished.

Lithuanian authorities are also going to question the pilot, 36-year-old Maj. Valery Troyanov as a witness. Since the crash he has been in shock and unable to tell investigators precisely what happened. The doctors who examined the pilot, who managed to eject safely from the aircraft, say he has no injuries, although Troyanov himself has complained of a pain in his back.

The Su-27 fighter bomber crashed in Lithuania about 120 miles northwest of the capital Thursday on its way from St. Petersburg to Russia’s Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad, home to a major Russian military base.

The pilot was detained and taken to a police station in the nearby town of Jurbarkas.

Defense Minister Gediminas Kirkilas was quoted by Associated Press as saying earlier that he considered the airspace violation to be unintentional.

“According to information we have now, it was clearly an accident, not an attempt to attack strategic targets in Lithuania,” Kirkilas said.

Two NATO F-4 fighters took off from a nearby air base after the Russian plane entered Lithuanian airspace, but they did not reach the jet before it crashed, the ministry said. The Russian plane was carrying no ammunition and posed no danger.

“We had information that a group of Russian military planes would be flying through a neutral corridor near the Lithuanian border,” said Gen. Vladas Tutkus, the commander of the Lithuanian armed forces. “Our radars, which had been surveying that group, detected that one jet separated from the others, flew into Lithuanian airspace minutes later and crashed into a field.”

It is not the first time Baltic states have reported Russian violations of their airspace. In May, Finland complained that Russian military aircraft had repeatedly violated its airspace for several months. The violations allegedly took place over the Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea as the fighter jets flew to and from Kaliningrad.

Similar alleged violations by Russian planes have been reported in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. In November, the Estonian government filed an official complaint with Moscow, but said none was serious enough to merit intervention by the four NATO fighters that patrol the Baltics’ airspace.
 

bd popeye

The Last Jedi
VIP Professional
There was speculation by the Lithuaniaian officals that the plane was crashed on purpose to test German defenses...Anyway the pilot was questioned for 6 hours and was later released.

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Lithuania Agrees Russian Jet Crash Accidental, to Release Pilot
Created: 23.09.2005 16:10 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 16:10 MSK, 9 hours 11 minutes ago

MosNews

The crash of a Russian military jet in Lithuania was almost certainly accidental and the pilot will be sent home when the investigation ends, the defense minister said Friday, but he criticized Moscow for sending a plane armed with missiles into the country’s airspace, AP reported Friday.

Lithuanian media speculated that the crash was planned to provoke the Baltic state or to test the response time of the four German NATO jets based there. The pilot is being held on suspicion of violating Lithuanian airspace.

Defense Minister Gediminas Kirkilas, however, said the crash was most likely an accident resulting from poor coordination and planning by the Russian air force.

“The provocation version can almost certainly be discarded,†Kirkilas was quoted by AP as saying.

Kirkilas questioned why the plane, which was part of a convoy granted passage through an agreed “corridor†over Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, was armed with four air-to-air missiles.

Investigators have recovered three of the missiles, but the fourth is still missing.

“These are not air policing forces tasked to safeguard that airspace,†Kirkilas said. He added that the crash posed a threat to Lithuanian, EU and NATO security, in that it showed the sorry state of the Russian military.

The plane went down Sept. 15 while traveling from St. Petersburg to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad. The pilot, Maj. Valery Troyanov, ejected safely and was later detained.

Lithuania, a former Soviet republic that joined NATO and the EU last year, has rejected Moscow’s demands to release Troyanov, further straining already tense relations between the two countries.

But Kirkilas said the pilot would be returned to Russia as soon as the investigation ends
 

sumdud

Senior Member
VIP Professional
The Russians have a corridor over Lithuanian airspace to fly between Kaillingrad and the rest of Russia? Why is Kaillingrad so important to Russia?
 

Vytautas

Junior Member
No in fact that corridor isnt directly above neither of the countries.Its just called so,because it passes over our waters.And yes that fighter was sent to test our radar capabilities and the ability to react to such situations.Although our officials say that the germans did well they actually took off when the plane has already crashed.Also if this was the real thing i doubt they could have done something with their crappy F4's...Lets just hope Turkey will bring something more than the germans.
 

Gollevainen

Colonel
VIP Professional
Registered Member
I dont know about you guys but as a finn the latest attitue that Balt states are showing towards russia is just intolerable and dangerous warmongering that is the one major obstacles in improving EU-Russia relaitionship. We should have make it to clear to all new Eu members that that kind of behaiviour isent tolerated. Europe cannot challenge china and US hegemony whit out its two major powers, EU and Russia in friendly terms. If we europeans are doomed to to live under multinational 'powe', least we can demand that it will be livable and strong alliegment, not some US pupet or rivaling bunch of ultra-nationalistic populist. Russia has such huge potential to not to be considered as 'evil' and 'enemy', but also so huge hegemony that we just cannot owerlook it and asumpt that Moscow will just bend on its kneas and accept imperialist attitue from West.

To build strong friendship and permanent peace over whole europe, EU and Russia needs to recgnize themselves as equal and accept each others and to that vision, some gnat-state's whining over past-misshappenings just throws us back to 60 years in Europe's political sphere. Thougth Soviet occupation brougth nother years of occupation and missery to some eastern-europe, its not to be forgotten that whitout red army, the Fasicsm would have been never defeated and future of all europe would have been in great peril. So for sake of all europe, Liethuanian goverment should accept Krelm's apoligy and return the pilot whitout future prolonging to safely back in Russia.
 

Vytautas

Junior Member
Easy for you to talk.You dont live in a country that is a constant target for russian political pressure and a propaganda object for the russian media.Should we accept the apology?What apology?There was no apology,just an ultimatum.Our intelligence agency even figured out that the russians have a plan to kidnap lithuanian citizens living in russia and exchange them for the pilot.Of course i cant really say that we are showing good gestures from our side,but for now thats all we can do.
 

MIGleader

Banned Idiot
well, i guess independence wasn't the best move for alot of the weak republics. especially nextto such a powerful nation.
 

Gollevainen

Colonel
VIP Professional
Registered Member
Vytautas said:
Easy for you to talk.You dont live in a country that is a constant target for russian political pressure and a propaganda object for the russian media.Should we accept the apology?What apology?There was no apology,just an ultimatum.Our intelligence agency even figured out that the russians have a plan to kidnap lithuanian citizens living in russia and exchange them for the pilot.Of course i cant really say that we are showing good gestures from our side,but for now thats all we can do.

I live as near to russia as you do...the difference between our state is that we finns have learned to live peacfully in the neighbour of the superpower...and acept the fact that you just have to adapt. We called it 'reality politics'. You dont mess nationalistic rumbles and chauvinist boast into foreing policy expecially if you happen to live next door to a nuclear-superpower that has changes to end all forms of living in your homecountry. We Finns as well as Balts and Polish can easily whine about all the misschieves of Stalins actions in the WWII but most of the time we tend to forgot that all of these so called 'esture states' conducted very anti-russian (and anti-communist as well), hate-policy towars Moscow and all of them participated in some sort of military actions towards Soviet-russia in its first years. And then we keep wonder, gee why Papa Joe was so hostile and cruely anxisted our homes? We finns were able to go most futerest whit this by conducting a full scale war against russia along whit Nazis but we also learned the leason most clearliest. Small nations doesent have change to dictate actions of larger neighbours. If those small staets still want to do it, backing it by support of hostile third party, it leaves no other change to that bigger neighbour but to response... I think 50 years of occupation and missery was enough for Liethuanians, Do you agree?? No reason for byuing tickets for next round...

...So EU's russian policy cannot be dictated by acient feelings...hell, we finns have as just as good grounds for hating russians as the balts. For first time in ever our defence forces have publiced reports of airspace violations made by russians flying to Kalinningrad, and thougth some elements of our sosiety wanted to rise them as political sledgehammer, the highest leadership of us wisely handeled the situation as it should have been done.

well, i guess independence wasn't the best move for alot of the weak republics. especially nextto such a powerful nation.

Every nation deserves indepence, it's got nothing to do whit the size...Baltic states deserves indepence as does palestinians or even taiwanese... but you cannot choose your neighbours and best way to co-exist is to not waging warmongering and hatred towards those neighbours...
 
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