A Syrian Air Force MiG-21 fighter pilot has flown his aircraft to Jordan and landed at an air force base, Jordan's Minister of Media Affairs and Communications Samih Maaytah said on Thursday, adding the pilot asked the Jordanian government for political asylum.
The plane was escorted by Royal Jordanian Air Force jetfighters soon after it entered the Jordanian airspace and was guided to the base where it landed safely, according to military sources quoted by the Jordan Times.
"The jetfighter landed at 10:45am and the government is currently considering the pilot's request," Maaytah told The Jordan Times, without elaborating further.
Syrian state news agency SANA reported earlier that radio contact had been lost with the single-seat aircraft.
The pilot was named as Hassan Hammadeh in a SANA report quoted by Xinhua.
