A Russian Su-35 nearly knocked a Polish Turbolet L-410 border patrol plane out of the sky near Romania, on Friday, May 5, while the Polish plane was performing a Frontex mission on behalf of the European Union.
According to the Polish Border Guard, the Russian Su-35 jet suddenly entered the airspace in which the Frontex operation was taking place and came close to the Polish border patrol plane without any radio warning. It then proceeded to carry out aggressive and risky maneuvers.
These maneuvers consisted of three attempts to close in on the Polish plane without respecting secure separation distance. As a result, the Polish plane suffered from turbulence and loss of altitude, and the pilot was in danger of losing control of the plane. The Polish pilot managed to stabilize the plane and successfully land. There were no casualties or injuries.
The Romanian defense ministry reported that the Polish plane had been interfered with by the Russian plane at around 13:30 hours, approximately 60 kilometers east of Romanian airspace. Two Romanian and Spanish fighter planes were put on alert as a result of the incident. The ministry has said that the action by the Russian military plane against a civilian unarmed aircraft was totally unacceptable.
The Polish L-410 has been stationed in Romania since the middle of April. It is carrying out a monitoring mission aimed at averting migration risks in the Black Sea Basin for the EU’s border service Frontex.
