Polish aircraft temporarily loses control after being intercepted by Russian fighter jet over Black Sea

A Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jet intercepted a Polish patrolling plane over the Black Sea, causing the latter to temporarily lose control, Warsaw said on Sunday.

According to a statement by Poland’s border force, the Russian plane in question did not make radio contact before carrying out “aggressive and dangerous manoeuvres, approaching the border guard plane three times without keeping to the required safety distance”.

The Polish plane was patrolling the area on behalf of the European Union’s border agency.

It experienced “significant turbulence and the crew temporarily “lost control of the aircraft and lost altitude.”

Warsaw noted that the Russian jet flew close enough to be near the Polish plane’s nose and crossed its path at a distance of “around five metres”.

Romania’s defence ministry which was the first one to report the incident condemned Moscow’s “aggressive and dangerous” behaviour.

Romania said that the Polish border guard plane was on a routine Frontex patrol with Romanian border police Friday when it was intercepted.

The Polish plane safely landed in Romania after the incident occurred.

Additionally, Romanian and Spanish planes were briefly put on “pre-alert” by NATO when the incident happened.

It took place “in international airspace over the Black Sea,” around 60 kilometres (37 miles) east of Romania’s airspace, said the ministry.

“This incident is further evidence of the provocative approach of the Russian Federation in the Black Sea,” said Bucharest.

The Polish plane has been deployed in Romania from April 19 and is due to stay there until May 17, part of a Frontex operation organised by Romania that also includes Spain and Sweden.

With inputs from agencies

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