Aircraft have intricate systems that pinpoint their locations and detect transgressions into hostile territory. In the event of an incursion, local planes are scrambled and pilots follow safety protocols that include speaking to one another in English on common radio frequencies.
If that doesn’t work, they’ll get close enough to use hand signals to tell the trespassing pilot to “get the hell out of there,” said John Johnson, an analyst at Teal Group in Fairfax, Virginia. In the end, downing a plane is “extremely rare.”
Two Turkish F-16 jets “intervened” Tuesday morning after the Russian jet entered Turkey’s airspace, the military said. Pilots warned the Russian plane, a Soviet-era Sukhoi Su-24, 10 times in five minutes before it was hit, according to a statement on the Turkish military’s website. Russian President Vladimir Putin called the incident “a stab in the back from the accomplices of terrorism.” .... http://www.bloomberg.com
