Ankara preparing to ask for over $30 mln in compensation from Athens

Ankara preparing to ask for over $30 mln in compensation from Athens over last month's collision of Turkish and Greek F-16 fighter jets over Aegean which left Greek pilot dead. Turkey to back claim with video recording and fact that region isN2t part of Greek flight information region

New details in final report show Ankara and Athens turned from edge of crisis after collision: Turkey sent armed F-16 jets to region just after accident, Greece recalled fighter jets to prevent escalation of tension

Ankara is preparing to seek compensation from Athens over last month's collision of Turkish and Greek F-16 fighter jets over the Aegean Sea which left a Greek pilot dead.

Turkey stated that the Greek fighter jet crashed into the Turkish one from below while coming up behind it and is therefore seeking more than $30 million in damages. The legal process concerning the claim will begin after NATO finalizes its investigation into the deadly dogfight which resulted in the collision.

Ankara is backing its claim with video images taken by another Turkish fighter jet which witnessed the collision and the fact that the region is not part of Greece's flight information region.

New details of collision in final report

The final report on the collision of the Turkish and Greek fighter jets has also brought to light new details about the incident.

According to the report, Turkey sent armed F-16 jets to the area just after the accident while Greece recalled its fighter jets from the area to prevent escalation of tension in the region. The report concluded that the fact that Turkey sent armed fighter jets to the area is an indicator that the two countries were close to a crisis just after the collision.

The report also states that the Turkish pilot, who survived, didn't activate the ejector seat himself but that it happened automatically after the accident. During search and rescue operations to find the pilots, the report states that tension was high. When a Turkish-flagged ship rescued the Turkish pilot, the report said that Turkish and Greek search and rescue teams went to the ship. While a Turkish Army officer was amusing the Greek team, a Turkish helicopter took the pilot from the ship and took him back to Turkey, according to the report. There was reportedly also a dispute between the Turkish army officer and Greek team.

ABHaber