Syrian Midair, Continued

Stephen Pope

Thursday, October 04, 2012 at 03:07 PM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

A reported midair collision occurred on September 20 near Damascus involving a Syrian Airways A320 and a military helicopter at 12,000 feet, an unusually high altitude for a helicopter, potentially to avoid rebel ground fire.
Official reports remain scarce, with little detail from Syrian state television and no reporting from Western news outlets, leading to speculation about a possible government cover-up if the damage had an alternative cause.
Despite the lack of official clarity, photo evidence of a horizontal gouge on the A320's tail is presented as lending credence to the midair collision story, consistent with damage from a helicopter's main rotor.

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We thought we’d share with you some more photos of that supposed midair collision between a Syrian Airways Airbus A320 and a Syrian military helicopter, possibly a Russian-built Mi-8, near Damascus last month.

The accident reportedly happened on September 20 near an altitude of 12,000 feet – but that’s about all that’s been reported so far. Why a helicopter would have been flying at such a high altitude is unknown, although one possible explanation exists: Rebel fighters successfully shot down an Mi-8 over Damascus in late August, an episode that may be prompting Syrian military helicopter pilots to climb out of harm’s way when en route.