A Greek inquiry into a mid-air collision between Greek and Turkish fighter planes this week blamed Turkish pilot error, a Greek official said on Friday, as the country confirmed the death of its pilot.
The Turkish plane ”rammed into the Greek aircraft overhead following a wrong manoeuvre by the Turkish pilot”, a top defence ministry official, who requested anonymity, told Agence France-Presse.
The Greek pilot ”was killed on the spot”, the official added.
The Greek army had announced on Tuesday that the Greek pilot was missing and that searches would continue until at least Friday around the island of Carpathos, in the south-east Aegean Sea, where the incident took place.
The Turkish pilot managed to eject from the plane and was recovered unhurt.
Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis told the country’s Parliament on Friday that Greece had rapidly defused ”a dangerous situation” and expressed his sadness at the loss of the Greek pilot’s life.
According to Athens, the Greek F-16 was on a reconnaissance mission after the Turkish planes, consisting of two F-16s and one F-4, had penetrated the Athens Flight Information Region (FIR), the flight zone overseen by the Athens airport control tower.
Turkey’s military on Wednesday said the Greek fighter jet had ”harassed” the Turkish plane and crashed into it. The military alleged the Turkish plane was technically in international Mediterranean airspace and not the Aegean as initially reported.
At the core of the dispute lies Greece’s claim of an airspace extending to 16km around its coastline. Turkey recognises only 10km, arguing that under international rules Greece’s airspace cannot go beyond the extent of its territorial waters.
In his address to Parliament, Karamanlis also reiterated that the process for Turkey’s desire to join the European Union called for ”normalising Greek-Turkish relations” and respect for European and international law.
Turkey is under EU pressure to resolve territorial disputes with EU member Greece and the incident comes at a sensitive time for its aspirations to join the bloc. — AFP
