In a chilling near-miss above Russia, a passenger jet and a cargo plane came within just 300ft of each other after an ‘unexpected manoeuvre’ by an Air China pilot sent the aircraft directly into the path of an oncoming Boeing 767.
The dramatic incident, which unfolded in the early hours of July 7 over Tuva, a mountainous region bordering Mongolia, has reignited growing fears over global aviation safety.
Shockingly, the two aircraft – Air China Flight CA967 bound for Milan and an SF Airlines cargo plane heading to China – should have been separated by at least 1,000ft, in line with international safety regulations.
Instead, the Air China Airbus A350 mysteriously began climbing from 34,100ft to 36,000ft without clearance from Russian air traffic control, placing it on a near-collision course with the cargo jet flying at 35,000ft.
Startling audio recordings that surfaced over the weekend on Chinese social media appear to capture the confusion in the skies, with multiple pilots attempting to communicate with a Russian controller juggling four planes at once.
The near miss triggered an alarm known as the Traffic Collision Avoidance System on both planes, prompting the Air China pilot to ask air traffic control what had caused this to happen.
The audio, mostly in English, paints a picture of mounting chaos as the Airbus edged dangerously close to the Boeing.
The controller asked: ‘Are you climbing with instruction or without instruction? Confirm, please.’
A passenger jet and a cargo plane came within just 300ft of each other after an ‘unexpected manoeuvre’ by an Air China pilot sent the aircraft directly into the path of an oncoming Boeing 767
The Air China plane mysteriously began climbing from 34,100ft to 36,000ft without clearance from Russian air traffic control, placing it on a near-collision course with the cargo jet flying at 35,000ft. File photo
The pilot replied: ‘No. Thank you.’
What exactly prompted the sudden ascent remains a mystery.
One theory is that the Air China pilot may have misheard instructions given to another aircraft nearby.
While two other planes – another Air China flight and a Hainan Airlines jet – were told to maintain their altitudes, Flight CA967 received no such directive before it began its unsanctioned climb.
Radar data confirms the terrifying approach, showing the jets heading almost directly toward one another at high-speed at cruising altitude.
The SF Airlines pilot, reportedly the first to spot the looming danger, urgently requested confirmation from air traffic control, only to be told an Airbus A350 was right in front of him.
A swift order was given that both aircraft were to veer off immediately in opposite directions to avoid catastrophe.
But behind the scenes, tensions flared. It is not known who released the recording and it could not be independently verified.
Air China, SF Airlines and the Civil Aviation Administration of China have been asked for comment by local media.
The SF Airlines pilot, reportedly the first to spot the looming danger, urgently requested confirmation from air traffic control, only to be told an Airbus A350 was right in front of him. File photo
The recording circulating online also includes a conversation between the two pilots after they switched to a different communication channel and spoke to each other in Mandarin.
The sound quality meant that parts of the conversation were inaudible, but at one point the cargo pilot was heard to say: ‘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’.’
The Air China pilot appeared to blame the female Russian air traffic controller for the incident, saying ‘the girl’ was ‘making a fuss’ and had left everyone ‘confused’.
He later said: ‘We couldn’t explain it clearly to them’ and ‘didn’t know how to tell them’.
The pilot added: ‘I assume we’ll have to write a report on this kind of incident when we get back.’
His SF Airlines counterpart replied: ‘Definitely, without a doubt. I have to report home [to the company] right away.’
