Russia says black box from jet Turkey shot down is damaged

Russia’s Defense Ministry on Friday publicly opened the black box of a warplane shot down by Turkey last month, a step it hopes will help confirm its assertions that the jet did not stray into Turkish air space and was maliciously downed.

British, Chinese and Indian military attaches watched alongside journalists from nearby over a live TV link.

“Our specialists extracted the memory card, but unfortunately it sustained mechanical damage”, said Sergei Bainetov, the deputy head of flight safety in the Russian armed forces, without elaborating on whether flight data could have been lost.

The Russian military said multiple scratches and dents were seen on the “black box” but the device had not been exposed to fire at the crash site.

“We have agreed on a package of assurance measures for Turkey in view of the volatile situation in the region”, Stoltenberg said, although he avoided any reference to Russia’s military involvement in Syria and its air incursions.

“We have sufficient evidence that proves that the Russian aircraft did not violate Turkish airspace”, said Dronov, adding that the downed plane had been flying in Syrian airspace 5.5 kilometres (around three miles) from the border with Turkey.

Russian Deputy Aerospace Forces Commander Sergei Dronov today said Sukhoi Su-24 bomber downed by the Turkish Air Force in Syria did not violate Turkish airspace and did not pose any threat to Turkey.

President Vladimir Putin yesterday lashed out at Turkey for the downing, saying it is now “practically impossible” to overcome tensions with Turkey. “It is in the same condition as it was found at the crash site”, Dronov said.

“In order to ensure maximal transparency and openness, we addressed foreign experts from 14 countries with an invitation to take part in the work [investigation] as observers”.

Nikolai Primak, head of the Russian investigation, also warned that some of the flight information appeared to be missing.

The incident, in which one pilot and a Russian marine with the rescue party were killed, strained the traditionally warm relations between Russia and Turkey and Moscow promptly slapped economic sanctions on Ankara.