Russian pilot that hit US drone was 'stupid' and 'inept' says former RAF officer
Former RAF Officer John Nichols says the Russian jet that hit a US drone was "nanoseconds" away from being a "catastrophic" collision.
Following on from the moment a Russian fighter jet hit a US drone over the Black Sea, former RAF Officer John Nichols told Nick Ferrari at Breakfast that it "was a catastrophically stupid, inept, dangerous piece of flying".
Mr Nichols said: "A lot of comments on the news websites and online have talked about brilliant flying by the Russian pilot, who managed to clip the propellor in superb flying bring the drone down - utter, absolute, nonsensical claptrap!"
He went on to say: "Anybody who knows anything about flying will tell you exactly why. The one thing that you never want to do if you're approaching another aircraft is lose sight of it.
"You can clearly see from the two approaches that in the final seconds, the flanker is belly up, so the pilot and the flanker cannot see the drone. That was a nanosecond away from a catastrophic mid-air collision."
You can watch the moment the Russian jet collided with the US drone here.