Turkish authorities detained the airmen who shot down Russian Su-24
Turkish authorities detained the airmen who shot down a Russian Su-24 near the Syrian border in November 2015, Bloomberg reported, citing a high-level Turkish official as their source. Earlier, the Mayor of Ankara, Melih Gökçek, stated that one of the pilots who downed the Russian attack aircraft took part in the coup in Turkey. According to Gökçek, the pilot is a member of the opposition organization of the Islamic preacher, Fethullah Gulen, accused of anti-government activities, Kommersant reported.
The Sukhoi bomber was shot down by Turkish military forces on the 24th of November, 2015. According to the Ministry of Defense, the aircraft was in Syrian territory where Russia took part in military operations against terrorists. Turkey claimed that the frontline bomber violated their airspace. Two pilots were in the cockpit when it was shot down but they managed to eject. However one of the pilots, Oleg Peshkov, was killed as a result of ground fire.
In addition, an Mi-8 helicopter was shot down during its flight to the site of the rescue operation in Syrian territory. The Mi-8 helicopter crash-landed. One more Russian serviceman, a marine named Alexander Pozynich, was killed as a result of this incident. In late June, the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, apologized to the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, for shooting down the Su-24 and expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.
The Prosecutor’s Office of Izmir is carrying out the investigation into the case of the pilot’s death. Turkish citizen Alpaslan Celik is accused of murdering Peshkov. He is currently under arrest.