Black box from downed Russian fighter jet opened but memory chips damaged

The black box of the Russian warplane shot down over Turkey was opened yesterday in the presence of foreign experts. It appeared to be scuffed and battered but had survived the fire when the Su-24 jet was brought down close to the border with Syria last month. Some of its memory chips were visibly broken in places. Russia hopes it will prove that the fighter was not in Turkish airspace when it was brought down.

We have sufficient evidence that proves that the Russian aircraft did not violate Turkish airspace

Col Sergei Dronov, deputy head commander of the Russian air force

Russian officials opened the orange-painted flight recorder as experts from China and Britain watched the procedure. Wearing lab coats, technicians used screwdrivers, drills, and even a vacuum cleaner as they opened the device under the watchful eyes of military personnel and dozens of journalists in a live national television broadcast. The findings will be revealed on Monday, the air force said. Russia has imposed economic sanctions on Turkey in a furious diplomatic row over the incident.

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