Lithuania ? Lithuania on Friday refused Moscow’s requests to hand over a Russian pilot whose fighter jet crashed in the NATO member’s territory after violating its airspace, saying it must first complete an investigation.

NATO investigators also would study the Su-27 fighter-bomber’s flight recorder, or “black box,” to determine what caused the crash, Defense Minister Gediminas Kirkilas said.

“We will not hand the pilot and the black box of the crashed plane over to Moscow until the investigation is completed,” Kirkilas said.

The plane, en route from St. Petersburg to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, crashed Thursday near the village of Ploksciai, 120 miles northwest of Vilnius. The pilot, Maj. Valery Troyanov, ejected without injury, officials said.

After questioning Troyanov for six hours, Prosecutor Mindaugas Duda said the pilot no longer was a witness but a suspect, and Lithuania had opened a case against him on suspicion of “violating international flight regulations.” He did not say why Tryanov’s status had been changed.