‘Dangerously close’ encounter: Russian jet flies within feet of US plane over Baltic Sea

Navy Capt. Danny Hernandez says the Russian pilot was flying at a high rate of speed and had poor control of the aircraft.

A US military official says a Russian fighter jet flew within several feet of a US reconnaissance plane in what the US says was an unsafe maneuver over the Baltic Sea.

Representative Image | Intercepts between US and Russian aircraft are common, and are generally not as dangerously close. (AP Photo)

Navy Capt. Danny Hernandez says the Russian pilot was flying at a high rate of speed and had poor control of the aircraft.

Hernandez is a US European Command spokesman. He says the close encounter was unprovoked by the US aircraft. He says it’s not clear if there was any communication between the aircraft.

It’s not known how many US crew were on the plane.

Hernandez says the incident was on Monday when the US RC-135 was on a routine mission in international airspace.

Intercepts between US and Russian aircraft are common, and are generally not as dangerously close.