2012 Turkish F-4 Phantom shootdown

2012 Turkish F-4 Phantom shootdown
An RF-4E Phantom II of the Turkish Air Force, similar to the one involved
Shootdown
Date22 June 2012 (2012-06-22)
SummaryShootdown by Syrian Army anti-aircraft fire
SiteSyria–Turkey border
35°50′01″N 35°30′36″E / 35.8335°N 35.5099°E / 35.8335; 35.5099
Aircraft
Aircraft typeMcDonnell Douglas RF-4E Phantom II
Operator Turkish Air Force
Registration77-0314[1]
Flight originErhaç Air Base
Occupants2
Crew2
Fatalities2
Survivors0

On 22 June 2012, a Turkish McDonnell Douglas RF-4E Phantom II reconnaissance jet was intercepted and shot down by the Syrian Army in international airspace, after having violated Syrian airspace.[2][3] The jet's pilots were killed; both Turkish and Syrian forces searched for them before recovering their bodies in early July. The incident was part of a series of incidents between Turkey and Syria since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War and greatly escalated the tensions between the two countries.

  1. ^ "Bugüne kadar 12 RF-4E uçağı düştü". Sabah (in Turkish). Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Assad regrets downing of Turkish jet, says won’t allow open combat with Ankara". Al Arabiya News, 3 July 2012. Retrieved: 3 July 2012.
  3. ^ "Syrian military says it downed Turkish fighter jet". BBC News. BBC. 22 June 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2012.