Turkish Air Force F-16s fighter planes force Syrian civilian plane to land at Ankara airport for investigation

October 10, 2012 Syria

David Cenciotti

Syrian Air Flight 442 (RB442), an Airbus A320 registered YK-AKE suspected of carrying weapons from Moscow to Damascus was forced to land at Ankara Esenboğa Airport on Oct. 10, 2012.

The civil liner, with 35 passengers on board, was intercepted by the Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter jets as it entered the eastern part of the Turkish airspace and it is currently being inspected.

25 Turkish F-16s were moved to Diyarbakir airbase on Monday following the border crisis with Syria.

Noteworthy, the flight from Moscow can be tracked until it reached Ukraina using ADS-B.

Turkish planes have been banned from flying in the Syrian airspace: flights carrying pilgrims to Jeddah landed in Adana, due to the closure of Syria’s airspace.

Image credit: TuAF

Turkey sends 25 F-16 fighter jets close to the Syrian border (theaviationist.com)
Pilots of the Turkish RF-4E downed by Syria executed by Assad on Russia’s advice. But new theory raises questions. (theaviationist.com)

30 years later, Ankara admits Turkish Air Force jet was shot down by Iraq (theaviationist.com)

About David Cenciotti

David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.