The chilling audio sheds light on the exact moment a Virgin Australia pilot found out they would be flying past the danger zone where a Chinese warship was opening live fire – with almost no warning.
Chilling audio has shed light on the moments right before a Virgin Australia pilot found out Chinese warships were conducting live-fire drills off Australia’s east coast as they were flying past the area.
Cockpit audio, obtained under Freedom of Information laws, has provided insight into the exact moment the commercial pilot found out a Chinese warship was about to open fire on the Tasman Sea with little warning as they flew past on February 21 this year.
The audio recording, obtained by 9News, reveals for the first time how shaken the Virgin Australia pilot was as he got to know the craft he was commandeering was flying into a danger zone — well before any Australian authorities had been made aware of the firing drills.
In fact, it was the Virgin pilot himself who alerted Air Traffic Control (ATC) to the Chinese naval task force undertaking the live firing exercise, as he’d received the warning from the Chinese navy just moments before.
In the cockpit recording, the Virgin Australia pilot can be heard asking ATC over the radio: “VA161, we’ve just had a warning from a Chinese naval task force that they’re doing a live firing exercise. Anyone aware of that?”
Air traffic control can be heard being caught completely off guard as the responder questioned back: “So they advised a level that they’d be firing to?” To which the pilot responded: “Negative. Just in that 10-mile radius of that position, that was it.”
What followed was a moment of levity between the two, as the Virgin pilot humorously joked: “So if we go missing, you’ll know what happened, hey?” In response to which ATC replied with a chuckle: “Good luck.”
“Yeah,” retorted the pilot sheepishly. Soon thereafter, ATC issued an official broadcast for other crafts: “Hazard alert. The Chinese warship located approximately 300 nautical miles southeast of Sydney, position 37°00’ South, 157°02’ East, has commenced live firing within a 10 nautical mile radius of that.”
Thankfully, while the Virgin Australia airplane was outside the 10-mile radius of the danger zone, a nearby Emirates flight — much closer to the Chinese warship — had to be radioed with a warning by Air Traffic Control.
The controller told the Emirates crew: “The information I’ve received: a Chinese warship is… commencing live firing. You will essentially fly right over the top of that position.”
The Emirates craft was swiftly diverted to the south of the Chinese warship, making it just one of the 49 planes that were forced to change their course due to the Chinese military’s live-fire drills.
A Qantas flight was also caught up in the chilling incident, with the pilot inquiring about the missiles’ expected altitude. While ATC didn’t appear to have an answer, the Emirates pilot managed to glean that the Chinese warship was firing up to an altitude of 15 kilometres — significantly higher than the typical cruising altitude for commercial planes, which is approximately 10 to 12 kilometres above sea level.
At the time of the incident, China downplayed the concerns; however, the Australian government has since sought reassurances from Beijing that it will be properly informed of any future exercises. In fact, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese even raised the issue with Chinese president Xi Jinping during the former’s recent China visit.
Following the summit, PM Albanese said: “I said what I said at the time. It was within international law, there was no breach of international law by China, but that we were concerned about the notice and the way that it happened, including the live-fire exercises.”
In the days following the February incident, China’s defence ministry spokesman, Wu Qian, said in a statement: “China’s actions are in full compliance with international law and international practices and will not affect aviation flight safety. Australia, knowing this well, made unreasonable accusations against China and deliberately hyped it up. We are deeply surprised and strongly dissatisfied with this.”
