Russian airliner ‘took wrong turn over Beijing’

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Russian airliner ‘took wrong turn over Beijing’

Aircraft took brief, impromptu flight over suburbs just after take-off from city's airport until put right by air traffic control, according to newspaper report

PUBLISHED : Friday, 29 May, 2015, 4:51pm
UPDATED : Friday, 29 May, 2015, 8:00pm

Angela Meng
[email protected]

A file photo of a Transaero Airlines aircraft. The incident in Beijing is under investigation, according to the newspaper report.

An airliner flying from Beijing to Moscow took a wrong turn after take-off and took a short, unplanned detour over the suburbs within the Chinese capital’s third ring road, according to a newspaper report.

A Russian Transaero Airlines aircraft was involved in the incident in the early hours of Thursday morning, according to the Beijing Youth Daily.

It was supposed to fly south after take-off before turning east and banking round to the north on its way to Moscow.

Instead Flight UN8888 flew south, then west and headed into Beijing’s suburbs, according to the report.

Residents in the area heard the sound of large engines, the newspaper said.

Air traffic controllers spotted the mistake and immediately told the plane’s pilot, who turned round and flew back to the scheduled route. The flight landed safely on time in Moscow.

The Beijing Youth Daily cited an unnamed source familiar with the matter who suggested the mistake may have been a pilot error.

Transaero Airlines said "preliminary data" showed the flight diverted "due to incorrect data entered in the onboard digital computer".

"The aircraft did not fly into the restricted flight area and there was no threat for passengers or residents," it added. "The airline has informed the Russian aviation authority in regard to this matter and further investigation will be conducted under the control of the Russian aviation authority.”

A PLA helicopter shot down a 2.3-metre long drone near Beijing last December.

The drone took off from a small airport in Sanhe in neighbouring Hebei province and was immediately detected by the PLA, which ordered an armed helicopter to destroy it.