(Adnkronos) – Only 90 meters separated an Airbus A350-900 passenger plane from a Boeing 767 cargo plane in the skies over Siberia, narrowly avoiding a mid-air collision. It happened on July 6, when Air China flight CA967, which departed from Shanghai and was headed to Milan Malpensa, made an unauthorized climb from about 10,390 to 10,973 meters, coming dangerously close to an SF Airlines cargo plane flying at 10,668 meters. Both crews had to perform emergency maneuvers after the onboard collision avoidance system was activated.
According to the South China Morning Post, the incident occurred over the mountainous region of Tuva, near the border with Mongolia, and was allegedly caused by a miscommunication between the Chinese pilots and Russian air traffic control. In a recorded audio, the controller asks if the climb was instructed; the pilot’s response – “No. Thank you” – fueled the controversy. Authorities are now investigating the violation of international rules that require a minimum separation of about 300 meters between aircraft.
