MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Thomson Airways flight from London Stansted airport only took the evasive action after the pilot spotted the missile, according to the media. The aircraft landed safely, and the passengers were not informed the plane had nearly missed the crash, the media said.
The airline company confirmed that the event was reported by the crew of the flight, according to other media reports.
The reports come in the wake of the downing of a Russian passenger plane in the Sinai Peninsula which crashed on October 31 en route from Egypt's resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg. All 224 people on board were killed in what has become the largest civil aviation disaster in Russian and Soviet history.
An Egypt-led investigation is working to determine the cause of the crash with the help from Russian and other foreign experts. US and UK intelligence reportedly suggest a bomb was planted in the Russian airliner before take-off. Russian authorities said it was too early to draw any conclusions on the exact cause of the crash.
