RAF jets intercept Latvian cargo plane over Kent

Two RAF jets have intercepted a Russian cargo plane over Kent and accompanied it to Stansted Airport.

The aircraft lost contact with air traffic controllers, a spokesman for the Essex airport said.

Kent Police received several calls reporting a loud bang. The force said it was related to RAF activity.

An airport spokesman said police officers surrounded the aircraft after it landed at 17:15 GMT.

RAF jets intercept Russian cargo plane over Kent

Probably nothing and the loud bangs heard were the Typhoons going supersonic (as QRA's are permitted to do), but something of vague interest I'm sure. It may not even be a "Russian" aircraft, but rather a Russian-made aircraft as there is a firm who use Antonov's based in the area.

a reply to: stumason

Bloody BBC - see, I said it wasn't a Russian aircraft, but Russian-made. It's now confirmed to be a Lithuanian aircraft....

An RAF spokesman said: "Typhoon aircraft were launched this afternoon from RAF Coningsby to intercept a civilian aircraft south of London which was causing concern to air traffic control authorities.

"The aircraft was safely escorted to London Stansted.

"To fulfil their quick reaction role the Typhoons were cleared to travel at supersonic speed, any noise disturbance as a result of this is regretted. Essex Police now have the lead."

The RAF confirmed the aircraft was a Russian-made Antonov An-26.

In a tweet it apologised if crews had "startled people" but added that jets only went supersonic over land when absolutely necessary.

In a statement, Essex Police said military jets were deployed on a precautionary basis when a Lithuania-registered cargo plane was diverted to Stansted.

It said: "This was due to a loss of communication with the aircraft. The aircraft landed safely."

Police said all three people on board had been spoken to and it was established everything was in order.

www.bbc.co.uk...

Nothing to see here then - moving on....

a reply to: stumason

Probably nothing more than a technical/human error, but it's good to know the RAF are prepared to go at a moment's notice.

Must be quite a trip going supersonic in such a small plane!

a reply to: KingIcarus

I don't know if the Typhoon's are that small!

Besides, it's not the size, it's what you do with it that counts

Latvian RAF Avia Airlines Antonov 26 Curl registration YL-RAA

Eurofighter Typhoon pilot Very High Frequency broadcast to the aircraft which is standard procedure.

?1605 L9T47 I am instructed by Her Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom to warn you that if you do not respond immediately to my orders you will be shot down.

Recording at following link.

soundcloud.com...

a reply to: stumason

I had the opportunity to see a Typhoon at the airshow in Southport (near Liverpool) a few weeks back.
I saw it do tricks(like damned handbrake turns in the sky),and use the after burners which was freaking awesome.
You could literally feel the soundwaves jiggering your internal organs.

That was quite close and low and at one point it went vertical like a rocket,then it was gone UFO style almost.

Awesome jets.

Do not mess with the Typhoons Russia!

The BBC changed the title on their article, so I changed the thread title here.

A woman on the news said it might be a sort of test to reaction times for aircraft approaching from the south as Russian aircraft come from the north. Sky news

a reply to: tommyjo

nice catch, reaction time test?

a reply to: Silcone Synapse

i have the pleasure/displesure to live where they train well not quite but about ten miles away here's a nice onboard or them flying from wales upto my place of residence (lake district)

a reply to: haven123

No. Simply a communications mix up. The crew of the An-26 got the wrong frequency or misheard it from French Air Traffic Control.

Sonic boom recording at following link.

news.sky.com...

originally posted by: tommyjo
a reply to: haven123

No. Simply a communications mix up. The crew of the An-26 got the wrong frequency or misheard it from French Air Traffic Control.

yeah i belive them, if they sent a russian military plane of any kind with its transponder off coming from the south of blighty the "escorting" would not have hapend it would have been bonfire night early in the sky,....reaction time test they do it most weeks but from there own end.

a reply to: haven123

UK radio enthusiasts picked up the Latvian Pilot on the emergency frequency stating that he attempted comms with UK ATC three or four times after taking the ATC contact frequency from French ATC.

Russian Bear aircraft do sometimes come down as far south as the Dutch coast. The last time was in April 2014. They encroached inside the Dutch 12 nautical mile national limit and were escorted out by Dutch F-16s.

edition.cnn.com...

a reply to: tommyjo

once my opinion is set its rarely swayed. here however i could have been wrong,but thinking with my conspiracy brain