Polish EU border patrol plane avoids collision with Russian jet

According to Romania and Poland, a Polish border guard aircraft on patrol for Frontex, the EU’s border agency, over the Black Sea near Romania nearly missed a collision with a Russian fighter jet on Friday.

A Russian SU-35 jet made “aggressive and dangerous manoeuvres” as it approached a Polish plane without maintaining a safe distance, which caused turbulence, lost altitude, and the Polish crew temporarily losing control of the plane. A spokesperson for the border patrol, Anna Michalska, posted on Twitter on Sunday.

“The Russian jet flew just in front of the nose of the Polish plane, crossing its trajectory at a dangerous distance, estimated by the crew to be about five metres,” Michalska added.

The Russian jet made three approaches before taking off, Michalska continued. International airspace is where the incident occurred.

According to a press release from the Romanian Ministry of Defense, the behavior of the Russian fighter was wholly inappropriate.

The event, according to the ministry, “is yet more evidence of the Russian Federation’s provocative approach in the Black Sea.”

The NATO Combined Air Operations Centre in Torrejon, Spain notified two combat aircraft from the Romanian Air Force and two from the Spanish Air Force assigned for Air Police duties. The four planes were prepared to act at any time, but the government claimed that their assistance was not essential.

“It appears to be a deliberate provocation by Russia, but fortunately nothing happened because the crew behaved professionally. We can see that Russia is attempting to provoke the world with such actions, said Piotr Muller, a spokesman for the Polish government, to private television network Polsat News on Sunday.