Minsk shares interview report with Ryanair aircraft: ‘Who is this advice from?’

It is clear that with this the pilots are trying to obtain more information about the threat, says the Association of Dutch Airline Pilots (VNV) after studying the transcription. According to aviation expert and former pilot Benno Baksteen, it is highly remarkable that air traffic control says it took the decision to divert itself. “Such a decision is taken by security forces in an emergency situation like this.”

Bomb threats are common in aviation, Baksteen says. “They are always carefully studied by the security services first, through several stages.” The pilots therefore ask air traffic control what the stage of the evaluation is. “That again indicates mistrust.” The answer is alarming: “the code is red”, the highest alarm stage.

In between, the pilots make an attempt to reach Ryanair for consultation. It is unclear whether this was successful and, if so, what was discussed there.

The knot will be made at 09.47: 12. The distress signal ‘Mayday’ is issued. The pilots announce that they will divert to Minsk. Air traffic control guides the aircraft according to the usual guidelines, says Melkert. From that moment on, nothing remarkable seems to happen.

How was the decision made?

According to the Belarusian authorities, the transcript shows that the pilots’ decision to fly to Minsk was made by themselves. “The crew has not been pressured or threatened,” the Belarus ministry concluded. But, the VNV emphasizes, the air traffic control proposes a landing in Minsk several times.

In addition, it is striking that nowhere in the transcription is the use of a jet fighter mentioned. That fighter plane eventually escorted the Ryanair plane to Minsk. In addition to communication with air traffic control, there may also have been contact between the jet fighter and the passenger aircraft, but no transcription of this is known.

In the end, it took 17 minutes between the first alarming report and the final decision to divert to Minsk. This shows no sign of haste or seriousness, say the aviation experts. Due to the delayed response, the aircraft was now only a few minutes away from Lithuanian airspace.

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