SAS

Russia has denied claims that one of its military planes flew close to a Swedish civilian aircraft, forcing the commercial airliner to change its flight path.

Russian officials said that the military aircraft was at a safe distance of more than 70km from the commercial airline route, and was adhering to international airspace rules.

On Saturday, Sweden alleged that a Russian intelligence aircraft flew so close to a Scandinavian airlines flight, that the passenger jet was forced to change its route. The civilian aircraft of SAS was flying from Copenhagen in Denmark to Pozan in Poland on Friday.

According to Swedish authorities, the Russian plane switched off its transponders, making it unreachable by commercial radars.

Swedish air force chief Micael Byden said that Sweden deployed fighter jets to identify the aircraft.

However, Russian news agency TASS quoted Defence Ministry spokesman general major Igor Konashenko as saying: "No prerequisites existed for an air accident related with a flight of a Russian warplane in the international air space over the Baltic Sea on Friday 12 December.

"The flight was being made strictly in compliance with international airspace rules, not violating borders of other countries and at a safe distance from traffic routes of civilian aircraft."

"The flight was being made strictly in compliance with international airspace rules, not violating borders of other countries and at a safe distance from traffic routes of civilian aircraft."

SAS also denied there was any danger from the Russian aircraft. It said that the incident was being ‘blown out of proportion’.

This is the second time Sweden has complained of near-collision of commercial aircraft with Russian military planes this year. A similar incident was reported in March when a Russian plane came as close as 100m to an SAS flight.

In October, Nato has reported ‘an unusual level of air activity over European airspace’ when it detected and monitored four groups of Russian military aircraft conducting manoeuvers over the Baltic Sea, North Sea/Atlantic Ocean, and Black Sea.

Nato has scrambled fighter jets 400 times this year due to Russia’s unusual air activity amidst the Ukrainian crisis.

Image: SAS said the incident was being ‘blown out of proportion’. Photo: courtesy of SAS AB.

Defence Technology