US fighter jet comes close to Iranian plane in Syrian airspace

TEHRAN: Several passengers on an Iranian airline have been injured over Syria after the pilot changed altitude to avoid collision with a US fighter jet, Iranian media reported.

The Iranian plane, belonging to Mahan Air, was heading from Tehran to Beirut on Thursday when the pilot staged a safety manoeuver. Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the incident said would be investigated but the United States military said its F-15 kept a safe distance.

Iran’s official news agency quoted a passenger describing how his head had hit the roof of the plane during the change in altitude, and video showed an elderly passenger sprawled on the floor.

All the passengers left the plane, some with minor injuries, the head of the Beirut airport told a global news agency. The plane arrived back in Tehran in the early hours of Friday.

The US military’s Central Command, which oversees American troops in the region, said the F-15 aircraft was conducting a visual inspection of the Iranian aircraft when it passed near the Tanf garrison in Syria where US forces are present.

Captain Bill Urban, the senior Central Command spokesman, said the F-15 “conducted a standard visual inspection of a Mahan Air passenger airliner at a safe distance of about 1,000 metres (3,280 feet) from the airliner this evening”.

“The visual inspection occurred to ensure the safety of coalition personnel at Tanf garrison,” Urban said. “Once the F-15 pilot identified the aircraft as a Mahan Air passenger plane, the F-15 safely opened distance from the aircraft.”

He added the intercept was carried out in accordance with international standards. At this altitude, aircraft should maintain a distance of at least 600 metres (2,000 feet) to ensure they do not hit each other.

Data from the flight recorded by a website showed the airliner climbed from 34,000 feet to 34,600 feet in under two minutes around the time of the incident, then dropped back down to 34,000 feet within a minute after.

The pilot of the passenger plane contacted the jet pilots to warn them to keep a safe distance and they identified themselves as American, Iran’s news agency reported.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry sent a protest note was sent to the Swiss Embassy, which represents US interests in Iran, warning that if any accident happens on the plane’s return flight to Tehran, the US will be responsible.

The ministry’s spokesman, Abbas Mousavi, said Iran is investigating the incident, adding that the country would take necessary legal and political actions.

US and Israel have long accused Mahan Air of transporting weapons to Iranian-linked fighters in Syria and elsewhere. The US imposed sanctions on Mahan Air in 2011, saying it provided financial and other support to Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard Corps.