Russian planes must lower altitude to avoid US spy planes
A Russian Aeroflot passenger plane from Tel Aviv (Israel) to Moscow had to lower altitude while flying over the Black Sea to avoid a US CL-600 reconnaissance aircraft.
The Russian Federal Aviation Administration said on December 4 that Aeroflot flight SU501 carrying 142 passengers had to descend more than 600 meters on December 3 when air traffic control reported that another plane was crossing its planned flight path.
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| A US Air Force RC-135 strategic reconnaissance aircraft flies over the Black Sea. Photo: Russian Ministry of Defense |
Another CL-650 plane flying from Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi to Skopje was also diverted due to the incident, according to the Russian Aviation Administration.
Interfax news agency quoted a source from Russian air traffic control as saying that the Aeroflot passenger plane had to lower its altitude to avoid colliding with the US spy plane.
“At one point, the vertical distance between the two planes was less than 20 meters,” the source said. Air traffic control asked the civilian plane to lower its altitude to ensure safety.
The incident happened to one of two US spy planes detected near the Russian border on December 3. Russia sent Su-27 and Su-30 fighter jets to escort these planes in the Black Sea area.According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the two US aircraft are Boeing RC-135V Rivet Joint and CL-600 Artemis./.