Egypt: British Plane With 189 Passengers On Board ‘Dodged Missile’ Flying Into Sharm El Sheikh
A Thomson Airways flight from London Stansted to Sharm El Sheikh airport reportedly came within 1,000 feet of a deadly missile two months ago. The pilot of flight TOM 476 immediately took evasive action, most likely saving the lives of the 189 passengers on board the flight.
This news comes out a week after the Russian Metrojet Flight 9268 crashed shortly after taking off from Sharm El Sheikh airport.
The Mirror Online has a video on their website published by Flight Radar 24, which clearly shows the flight path of the British Thomson Airways aircraft and a major change in that flight path just before the plane arrives at the Sharm El Sheikh airport in Egypt.
Sharm El-Sheikh-Bound Thomson Flight ‘Had Near Miss With Missile’, Reports Claim In Wake Of Russian Plane Crash https://t.co/EQ8K7iKMw7
— Igor Marinovsky (@Igor_Marinovsky) November 7, 2015
Reportedly, the plane did eventually land safely and the airline did not inform the passengers on board the flight of their close call with a missile.
The incident involving the British Thomson jet has been confirmed by the Department of Transport and the date it happened was August 23. A source for the department said, “The first officer was in charge at the time but the pilot was in the cockpit and saw the rocket coming towards the plane.”
The change in flight path can be seen in the video included below.
A spokesperson for Thomson Airways confirmed that an incident was reported by the crew of flight TOM 476 on August 23, 2015.
“Upon landing into Sharm el-Sheikh, an initial assessment was conducted and the event was immediately reported to the UK Department for Transport (DfT) in line with established protocol.”
“The DfT conducted a full investigation in conjunction with other UK Government experts.”
The spokesperson continued that after reviewing the details of the incident, their investigation concluded there was no cause for concern and that it was safe to continue the company’s flying program to Sharm el Sheikh.
As reported by the Huffington Post, the spokesman continued by saying the first officer ordered that the Thomson flight turn to the left to avoid the rocket, which he estimated was around 1,000 feet away from the plane. Rumor has it five members of the cabin crew on the flight only heard about the close call after the plane landed and were offered a chance to spend the night in Egypt.
U.K.: British tourist plane in August flew within 1,000 feet of a missile near Sharm el-Sheikh, reports says: https://t.co/SsgSBFs9hp
— The Associated Press (@AP) November 7, 2015
However, reportedly they all chose to head straight back home to the U.K. Apparently, it wasn’t only the British Thomson jet that spotted the missile as another plane belonging to the airline also saw the missile on approach to Sharm El Sheikh.
The airline was reportedly told the rocket emanated from an Egyptian military exercise. However, after the horror incident with the Russian jet, news of the close call has left people feeling nervous of flying to the popular destination.
Watch moment British jet ‘dodged missile’ on approach to Sharm El Sheikh https://t.co/GrmhL6raMW pic.twitter.com/9ygeiMllKF
— Daily Mirror (@DailyMirror) November 7, 2015
The Russian Metrojet airliner crashed a week ago in the Sinai peninsula shortly after taking off from Sharm El Sheikh, killing all 224 people on board the plane. Investigations have revealed that it was most likely a bomb that downed the flight and the terror group Islamic State has said they are responsible.
The Inquisitr reported this week the most likely reason for the crash of Russian Metrojet Flight 9268 was a bomb planted by ISIS which tore the jet apart, killing all passengers and crew on board. Reportedly, the explosion can be heard from evidence gathered from the plane’s black box.
All commercial flights from the U.K. to the popular Egyptian resort were suspended Wednesday, and the British Foreign Office advises against travel to the northern Sinai region of Egypt, including Sharm El Sheikh.
As reported by the Inquisitr, thousands of stranded British tourists were trapped in the country after flights were cancelled. However, the Mirror Online reports that they have finally begun flying home Saturday on specially charted flights arranged by the British Government.
[Photo via Flickr by Dean Morley /CC BY-ND 2.0]
