Several passengers on an Iranian airline were injured in Syria after the pilot changed altitude to avoid collision with a US fighter jet, according to Iranian media, but the United States Army said its F-15 was keeping a distance. safe.
The Iranian Mahan Air plane was on its way from Tehran to Beirut on Thursday when the pilot carried out a security maneuver, in an incident the Iranian Foreign Ministry said would be investigated.
Tensions have increased between Tehran and Washington since 2018, when United States President Donald Trump closed the 2015 Iran nuclear deal with six world powers and re-imposed sanctions that have affected Iran’s economy.
Iran’s official IRIB news agency quoted a passenger describing how his head had hit the plane’s roof during the altitude change, and the video showed an elderly passenger lying on the ground.
“I don’t know what happened. A black plane approached our plane and our plane lost balance. They jumped me and hit my head on the roof,” the unidentified passenger told IRIB.
Another said, “It was a fighter jet. A fighter jet was literally sticking to our plane. We lost our balance and jumped up and down.”
All the passengers left the plane, some with minor injuries, the Beirut airport chief told Reuters News Agency.
The plane arrived in Tehran in the early hours of Friday, the Fars news agency reported.
‘Visual inspection’
The U.S. Army Central Command, which oversees U.S. troops in the region, said the F-15 aircraft was conducting a visual inspection of the Iranian aircraft when it passed near Tanf’s garrison in Syria, where U.S. forces are present.
Captain Bill Urban, the chief spokesman for Central Command, said the F-15 “performed a standard visual inspection of a Mahan Air passenger jet at a safe distance of approximately 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) from the plane tonight.”
“The visual inspection occurred to ensure the safety of coalition personnel in the Tanf garrison,” said Urban. “Once the F-15 pilot identified the plane as a Mahan Air passenger jet, the F-15 safely opened the distance to the plane.”
He added that the interception was carried out in accordance with international standards.
Aircraft at that altitude must maintain a distance of at least 600 meters (2,000 feet) to ensure that they do not hit each other, although aircraft traveling so close may encounter turbulent wake.
Flight data recorded by the FlightRadar24.com website showed the plane rose from 34,000 feet to 34,600 feet in less than two minutes or so at the time of the incident, then dropped back to 34,000 feet in a minute later.
Granular data from 16:10 to 16:20 UTC from IRM1152. A 34,000 to 34,600 foot ascent between 4:13:53 PM and 4:14:32 PM, then drops to 34,000 feet at 4:15:29 PM. pic.twitter.com/dQSpPvB4vV
– Flightradar24 (@ flightradar24) July 23, 2020
The pilot of the airliner contacted the pilots of the plane to warn them to keep a safe distance and identified themselves as Americans, IRIB reported.
After the incident, Iran’s Foreign Ministry sent a note of protest to the Swiss Embassy, which represents the interests of the United States in Iran, warning that if any accident occurs on the plane’s return flight to Tehran, it will be the responsibility from the United States.
Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said Iran is investigating the incident, adding that the country would take the necessary legal and political actions.
Israel and the United States have long accused Mahan Air of transporting weapons for Iran-linked fighters in Syria and elsewhere.
The United States imposed sanctions on Mahan Air in 2011, saying it provided financial and other support to Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard Corps.
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