| Submit your comments on this article |
| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| 'Missiles fired at' Russian plane with 159 passengers onboard flying over Syria |
| 2013-04-30 |
| [RT] Two missiles were reportedly fired at a Russian plane with at least 159 passengers on board that was flying over Syrian territory. Russian officials admit the jet faced danger, but are not talking of a targeted attack. The news broke in on Monday as Interfax, citing "an informed source in Moscow," reported that a Russian passenger plane was attacked. "Syrian [officials] informed us that on Monday morning, unidentified forces launched two ground-to-air missiles which went kaboom!in the air very close to a civilian aircraft belonging to a Russian airline," the source told the Russian agency. The pilots reportedly managed to maneuver the plane in time however, "saving the lives of passengers." It is believed the aircraft was intentionally targeted, "but it remains unclear whether the attackers knew it was Russian or not," the source added. However, there's more than one way to stuff a chicken... Russian officials, though admitting the plane might have been endangered, are not yet talking of a targeted attack. The Russian Foreign Ministry's said on its website the plane's crew at 4.55 PM Moscow time (12.55 GMT) "detected battle action on the ground that, according to the crew, could constitute a threat to the 159 passengers on board the plane." The Russian Foreign Ministry is now "taking emergency measures to clarify all the circumstances of this situation, including making contact with the Syrian authorities," the ministry's spokesperson Aleksandr Lukashevich said. The plane that was allegedly targeted belonged to Nordwind Airlines -- a Russian charter air carrier -- and was identified as an Airbus A320. On April 29 it was en route to the city of Kazan, in Russia's republic of Tatarstan, from Egypt's resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #11 I know a little bit about Russian planes ;-) |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2013-04-30 21:56 |
| #10 That was cold, EC. True, but cold. ;-p |
| Posted by: Barbara 2013-04-30 21:50 |
| #9 Russian planes can fall down without being hit by a missile |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2013-04-30 20:15 |
| #8 Far more drastic things have been done, for far less reason. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2013-04-30 17:07 |
| #7 Somebody is asking for a spetznaz visit? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2013-04-30 14:54 |
| #6 Sounds like the missles were water powered pump rockets like I used as a kid. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2013-04-30 14:28 |
| #5 "The pilots reportedly managed to maneuver the plane in time however, "saving the lives of passengers." A passenger jet? Really? I know nothing about what forces metal can stand and not come apart at the seams under these "maneuvering" circumstances (particularly an Airbus), but I highly doubt this. In any case, hope they all had extra underwear with them. Wonder if the ground-to-air missles were Russian? Karma's a bitch, after all. |
| Posted by: Barbara 2013-04-30 14:01 |
| #4 The pilots reportedly managed to maneuver the plane in time however, "saving the lives of passengers." The Rantburg awards and decorations bureau has just recommended The Order of Lenin for the pilots and flight navigator. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2013-04-30 13:18 |
| #3 The pilots reportedly managed to maneuver the plane in time however, "saving the lives of passengers." Yeaaaaahhhhh....like an A-320 has the roll/pitch/bank response of a front-line fighter.... |
| Posted by: Uncle Phester 2013-04-30 12:48 |
| #2 04/29 22:05 Russian Foreign Ministry taking emergency measure to clarify incident with Russian jet flying over Syria VIA Interfax Bet they want this quiet. |
| Posted by: newc 2013-04-30 00:16 |
| #1 IMO read, RUSSIAN MIL INTERVENTION AGZ OBAMA MIL INTERVENTION. "Post-US", "Mahanist" China is already feeling "caged" by the US over in East Asia - it really doesn't need a reason to intervene, only a catalyst. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2013-04-30 00:06 |