Close encounters with Turkish jets in Aegean
Two passenger aircraft were involved in a close shave yesterday with Turkish military jets that had entered the Athens civil aviation Flight Information Region without warning, according to the state Athens News Agency. The ANA quoted military sources as saying the intruding jets were among nine formations of Turkish military aircraft that entered the Athens FIR without first submitting flight plans. All were chased off by Greek jets, in several cases following simulated dogfights. In the closest of the two encounters, a couple of pairs of Turkish fighters – followed by pursuing Greek interceptors – crossed in front of a small US-registered private jet east of Crete at a distance of two miles, flying 3,000 feet lower. Also, Turkish jets flew within 3.2 miles of a Cyprus Airways passenger jet south of Rhodes, according to the ANA.
