VILNIUS, October 4 (RIA Novosti) - A Lithuanian investigation report released Tuesday said the pilot and Russian air traffic control were responsible for the September crash of the Su-27 Flanker fighter in Lithuania.
The Lithuanian investigation committee concluded that "the unauthorized intrusion of a [Russian] plane piloted by Major Valery Troyanov into Lithuanian airspace and the ensuing crash were caused by a combination of procedural, technical, and human factors."
"The pilot made a number of mistakes during the flight and failed to properly use the on-board navigation system to determine the position of the plane," the report said.
Lithuanian Prosecutor General Mindaugas Duda said the fate of the pilot would be decided "very soon."
In addition, the committee concluded that Russian air traffic control services had also made a series of mistakes.
"The fighter was in good technical condition, but flight preparation procedures were conducted in a hurry and their sequence was violated," the report said.
After a meeting with the Lithuanian president, Defense Minister Gediminas Kirkilas said the investigation had not found evidence of a deliberate provocation of Lithuania or NATO, but added that the protection of airspace over the Baltic countries in light of the recent incident would be discussed with NATO partners and Russian authorities.
The Su-27 fighter, flying from St. Petersburg to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, crashed September 15 on Lithuanian territory. The pilot, Major Valery Troyanov, managed to safely eject and no one was hurt in the incident.
