Fighters scrambled as Air Europa aircraft fails to respond to air traffic controllers on flight from Oslo to Palma
Spanish accident investigators are trying to establish why the crew of an Air Europa Boeing 737-800 failed to respond to radio calls while flying across Europe.
The 1 May incident sparked a major security alert and an investigation has now been launched following a complaint from the Netherlands government. Air Europa has begun an investigation.
The Spanish-registered 737, with 186 passengers on board, crossed most of Europe without making radio contact with air traffic control (ATC). The aircraft had left Bergen, Norway, for Palma de Mallorca, Spain, according to its flight plan. When the aircraft entered Dutch airspace, it failed to contact Eurocontrol. Maastricht ATC called the aircraft a number of times, but the pilots did not respond.
It is standard procedure for aircraft flying under instrument flight rules to continue their journey according to their flight plan if radio problems arise. However, if the crew is aware of a radio failure, it is required to set the transponder to the radio-failure code.
Since the 2001 US terrorist attacks, authorities are on high alert for airliners behaving strangely. As the 737's flight plan indicated it would overfly Brussels, where NATO and European Union headquarters are located, the former was alerted and the Dutch air force scrambled two Lockheed Martin F-16As to investigate.
As the 737 was heading for the Belgian border, the Belgian air force was also put on alert. Two F-16s were put on 2min stand-by, but did not scramble as the Dutch F-16s had enough fuel.
The French air force also launched two Dassault Mirage 2000s to relieve the Dutch fighters. Radio communications were restored 1h 45min after the alert.
HERMAN DE WULF / BRUSSELS
Source: Flight International
