The Sukhoi 33 jet sank in around 1,100 metres (3,600 feet) of water on Monday after a restraining cable intended to stop the plane overshooting the deck of the Admiral Kuznetsov carrier snapped as it came in to land, a spokesman at navy headquarters in Moscow said.

The pilot managed to eject from the plane however and "was fished out in five minutes," the spokesman told AFP.

The spokesman denied Russian media reports that the plane would be destroyed in its resting place on the seabed in order to prevent secrets on its design and equipment falling into the wrong hands. "The plane was not armed and therefore does not represent a danger," the spokesman said.

Russia's navy has suffered a series of blows to its reputation in recent years, including the snagging of a mini-submarine carrying seven men on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean last month.

That vessel was eventually rescued by Britain's Royal Navy with just hours of oxygen left.

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