To begin, he never made a phone call to the airline to be sure the facts were accurate. Then when any such emergency exists in the air; the USA scrabbles jets to escort the airliner to an airport. If the airliner does not yield, only then will it be shot down IF it is a danger to people. There is no indication in the reporting that facts were checked and proper channels were open to provide a safe landing for the jet.
This is an astounding revelation by the Russian President. I can't say this is not like him, it tends to be, including the impulsivity of Crimea and Ukraine. World leaders are supposed to be "cool headed." It looks as though that character strength has evaded President Putin.
I am not seeing a flight number or any mention of who was on that plane. Who was on the plane?
12 March 2018
Russia's President Putin (click here) ordered the shooting down of a passenger plane that was reportedly carrying a bomb and targeting the opening of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, he says in a new film.
In the two-hour film, posted online, Mr Putin says he was told a plane from Ukraine to Turkey had been hijacked as the Games were about to start.
It was found to be a false alarm, he says. The plane was not shot down.
The film comes ahead of an election he is expected to win on 18 March.
Mr Putin faces seven challengers but none are expected to attract widespread support and the most prominent opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, has been barred from standing.
"I was told: a plane en route from Ukraine to Istanbul was seized, captors demand landing in Sochi," Mr Putin says in the film, Reuters reported.
The pilots of a Turkish Pegasus Airlines Boeing 737-800, flying from Kharkiv to Istanbul with 110 people on board, said a passenger had a bomb and had told them to divert the plane to Sochi, reporter Andrey Kondrashov says....
