Syrian Pilot Defects in MIG, Israel Reports
A Syrian pilot landed his Soviet-made MIG-23 fighter jet in northern Israel today, and the Israeli army said he was a defector. Syria denied the pilot defected and said he was forced to land because of a mechanical problem.
“This morning a Syrian pilot escaped from Syria with his plane, a MIG-23, and he landed safely in Israel,” said Lt. Col. Raanan Gissin, an army spokesman.
The pilot landed at noon at an airfield at Megiddo, 57 miles north of Jerusalem, and was met by Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the miliary’s chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Dan Shomron, an army communique said. Israel radio said the man was being questioned.
In Damascus, a Syrian official said, “The plane faced a technical failure, and the pilot was compelled to make an emergency landing.” The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, denied the pilot defected.
Israeli witnesses to the landing said the plane did not appear to be in trouble when it touched down.
If the Israeli reports are confirmed, it would be the first defection by a Syrian pilot to Israel.
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