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Passengers injured after Iranian airline pilot swerved to avoid US fighter jet

panorama.am07/24th/2020, 8:18

Passengers injured after Iranian airline pilot swerved to avoid US fighter jet

Several passengers on an Iranian airline were injured on Thursday over Syria after the pilot changed altitude to avoid collision with a U.S. fighter jet, according to Iranian media, but the U.S. military said its F-15 was at a safe distance.

The Iranian plane, belonging to Mahan Air, was heading from Tehran to Beirut when the pilot staged a safety maneuver, in an incident that Iran's Foreign Ministry said would be investigated, France 24 reported.

Iran's official IRIB news agency quoted a passenger describing how his head had hit the roof of the plane during the change in altitude, and video showed an elderly passenger sprawled on the floor.

All the passengers left the plane, some with minor injuries, the head of the Beirut airport told Reuters.

The plane arrived back in Tehran in the early hours of Friday, the Fars news agency reported.

The U.S. military's Central Command, which oversees American troops in the region, said the F-15 aircraft was conducting a visual inspection of the Iranian aircraft when it passed near the Tanf garrison in Syria where U.S. forces are present.

Captain Bill Urban, the senior Central Command spokesman, said the F-15 "conducted ...

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