The Air China and SF Airlines pilots both appeared to blame the Russian air traffic control officer for “making a fuss” after they nearly collided in mid-air
Terrified pilots were heard in a state of panic when they almost collided with each other over Russian skies.
The Chinese cargo jet was flying over Tuva, a mountainous region near Mongolia, in the early hours of July 7 when the pilot of an Air China plane performed an “unexpected manoeuvre” and came within 300ft of the Boeing 767.
The Air China Flight – which was bound for Milan – and the SF Airlines cargo plane bound for China should have been at least 1,000ft apart.
As the cargo jet coasted at 35,000ft, the Air China pilot mysteriously started increasing altitude, taking the plane from 34,100 to 36,000ft, putting it on a near-collision with the Chinese cargo aircraft.
Audio recordings have emerged on social media in China, which captures the frenzied moment the pilots tried to communicate with air traffic control.
The close call saw both planes trigger their Traffic Collision Avoidance Systems. The Air China pilot is heard asking control why this had happened.
The controller asked: “Are you climbing with instruction or without instruction? Confirm, please.”
The pilot replied: “No. Thank you.”
It’s currently unknown why the pilot performed the irregular manoeuvre, with him mishearing instructions being one theory offered. He may have picked up instructions given to two other aircrafts, an Air China and Hainan Airlines plane, which were told to maintain altitude.
The terrifying moment can be seen in flight tracking data, which shows the two jets on a direct collision course.
They were both ordered to veer off in opposing directions, which managed to help avert another mid-air disaster.
A separate recording has also emerged of the two Chinese pilots communicating in Mandarin after switching to a different channel.
At one point the cargo pilot is heard saying: “I saw your plane climbing. Did [air traffic control] instruct you to? I saw that there was a plane ahead and it was only 20 nautical miles [37km] away and still climbing. Such a crossing altitude is very inappropriate. I guess you also heard me saying ‘request traffic information’.”
It comes after another aviation disaster struck in the UK on Sunday. Four people were killed when a plane crashed into the tarmac before exploding into a “fireball” at Southend Airport.
Witnesses reported seeing a huge plume of smoke billowing into the sky after the medical transportation aircraft crashed at 4pm yesterday.
The plane had arrived in the UK in the morning and was due to fly on to the Netherlands, where its operator, Zeusch Aviation, is said to be based.
One of the victims has been identified as Maria Fernanda Rojas Ortiz, a 31-year-old Chilean nurse who was on her first day working on a private medical jet.