Wrong radio frequency by Cathay crew led to Nato jet interception: report
London-bound CX257 was intercepted by Hungarian fighter jets over Romania in early July after losing contact with civilian air traffic control
The cockpit crew of a Cathay Pacific Airways flight from Hong Kong to London selected the wrong radio frequency when mistakenly responding to instructions for another aircraft, leading to a loss of communication with air traffic control in Romanian airspace last month, a Hong Kong investigation report has revealed.
The government said on Friday that the Civil Aviation Department had completed a review of the airline’s full investigation report and expressed “serious concern” over the incident, which triggered an intercept by a pair of Hungarian fighter jets under Nato protocols.
“The incident involved the incorrect selection of radio frequency by the concerned flight crew due to a mistaken response to air traffic controllers’ instructions for another flight, and the flight crew did not subsequently realise the loss of communication,” a department spokesman said.
He added that the report indicated that the aircraft’s communication equipment had been operating normally.