Military honours ... Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu (fourth left) standing next to the coffin with the body of Russian pilot Lt Colonel Oleg Peshkov who was killed when his fighter jet was shot down by the Turkish air force.

Turkey claims it shot down the military jet because it violated their airspace for 17 seconds and ignored 10 warnings in the space of five minutes.

Russia claims it was shot over Syrian airspace and that it never violated Turkish territory.

STRONG ACCUSATIONS: Turkey challenges Putin for proof

Going down ... A screengrab from Haberturk TV shows the Russian warplane on fire before crashing on a hill as seen from Hatay province, Turkey.Source:AP

Using video footage and maps of the incident provided by Turkish and Russian officials, astrophysicists Tom van Doorsslaere and Giovanni Lapenta of the Belgian KU Leuvenwho reached the conclusion that both Turkey and Russia are lying.

Here is why, as described in a post on their blog run by KU Leuven.

The jet dropped for 30 seconds before it hit ground. The physicists calculated that the plane was travelling at a height of 4500 metres when it was hit — roughly consistent with Turkish accounts at this point.

On fire ... A screengrab from Haberturk TV shows the warplane moments before it crashes on a hill as seen from Hatay province in Turkey.Source:AP

Turkey claimed the crash site was 8km from where the jet was hit, which means it must have been travelling at an initial speed of 980km/h.

Turkish officials said that the jet was travelling through 2km of Turkish airspace for 17 seconds. But at this speed it would have only taken seven seconds.

Also if the jet was travelling at that speed, it would cover a distance of 80km in five minutes — making the Turkish military’s statement of “10 warnings in five minutes” seem highly unlikely.

High impact ... A screen grab from Haberturk TV shows smoke from a Russian warplane after crashing on a hill as seen from Hatay province, Turkey.Source:AP

The astrophysicists argue the warnings could not have all fitted into just seven seconds, and if they were made they would have been based on speculation as to whether or not the plane was crossing the border.

Van Doorsslaere and Lapenta have also cast doubt on Russia’s claims.

A Russian map that apparently shows the jet not violating Turkish airspace shows that it changed course by 90 degrees when it was hit by the missile.

Russian President ... Vladimir Putin.Source:AFP

Turkish PM ... Ahmet Davutoglu.Source:AP

“A change of course of 90 degrees can only be achieved with an object that’s many times heavier or faster than the jet,” the physicists noted.

A surface-to-air missile would not have caused this to happen, suggesting the 90-degree turn was caused by the pilot’s own manoeuvring.

Therefore, despite Russia’s claims to the contrary, the jet was likely not actively avoiding Turkish territory.

The researches concluded: “According to our calculations, it is clear that both the story of Turkey and Russia should be taken with a grain of salt.”