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.
“After the incident, [Cathay] has implemented a host of improvement measures, including enhancing the operational and monitoring procedures for the flight crew regarding the communication system, and reminding the flight crew to be more vigilant at all times,” he said.
The department expressed “serious concern” over the incident, adding that it had instructed Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay to robustly follow up on the relevant improvement measures, such as providing additional training and assessment for the crew involved.