Flaming space junk from a disintegrating Russian satellite narrowly missed hitting a Chilean Airbus A340 flying over the Pacific Ocean, according to reports.
The pilot of the 295-seat widebody, which was en-route to New Zealand, told air traffic controllers he had seen pieces of flaming material falling about eight kilometres (four miles) in front of and behind the aircraft. None of the debris struck the Airbus, which landed safely later at Auckland.
Airways New Zealand said it had been warned by Russian authorities that an obsolete satellite was likely to fall into the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday. In the event the satellite de-orbited 12 hours earlier.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
