Russia: Black box of downed Su-24 plane still not decipherable

The Russian Defense Ministry announced on December 21 that international experts have not yet been able to decode the black box of the Russian Su-24 bomber shot down by a Turkish plane on November 24 because the device's microchips have been destroyed.

Black box of Russian Su-24 bomber shot down by Turkish aircraft. (Source: AFP)

Speaking at a short press conference in Moscow, the head of the Ministry's flight safety department, Sergei Bainetov, said that at this time it is not possible to decode data from the Su-24's black box due to internal damage.

Analysts are currently considering asking Russian specialized scientific institutes to help analyze data from the black box. However, according to Mr. Bainetov, the analysis process may take a relatively long time.

Analyzing the Su-24's black box will help accurately assess the flight path and location of the downed plane - an issue on which Ankara and Moscow disagree fiercely.

Russia has repeatedly asserted that its Su-24 aircraft participating in the campaign against the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization in Syria was shot down by a Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter jet inside Syrian territory while flying at an altitude of 6,000m and 5.5km away from Turkish airspace.

Russia demanded that Türkiye apologize and compensate Russia for the damage. Meanwhile, Turkey expressed regret for this military incident but did not apologize to Russia. Therefore, Russia imposed a series of economic sanctions on Turkey and warned that Ankara's actions had "serious consequences" for relations between the two countries.

According to VIETNAM+