A U.S. Air Force plane on its way to Antarctica turned around after being warned about Russian activity in New Zealand-managed airspace.
A C-17 Globemaster transport plane left New Zealand’s Christchurch Airport for Antarctica Tuesday, but turned around after flying for less than two and a half hours, according to New Zealand news site Stuff.
The return was spurred by New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority, which issued a notification to pilots after getting word from Russia’s State Air Traffic Management Corporation about possibly hazardous space activity by Russia, including a planned missile launch, according to CNN.
The warning was issued for the Auckland Oceanic Flight Information Region, which New Zealand manages, according to the Civil Aviation Authority website. The region spans more than 18 million square miles, which includes international waters outside of New Zealand’s jurisdiction.
“We put in place a danger area and issued a NOTAM to alert aircraft operators to the potential hazard. This does not prevent aircraft from flying through the area, operators make their decisions based on the information available. Much of our Oceanic FIR is over international waters, where we have limited control over activities,” New Zealand aviation officials said in a statement Wednesday, according to CNN.
A former military official in the country thinks space debris was the cause of the Russian alert to New Zealand aviation authorities.
“The fact that the Russians contacted the CAA would indicate that it was their satellite, or perhaps just a bit of space junk that they were monitoring. The CAA issues their NOTAM and, obviously, the crew of the Globemaster decided not to take any risks, and that was pretty sensible,” Wayne Mapp, who served as New Zealand’s Defense Minister from 2008 to 2011, told the New Zealand Herald.
New Zealand foreign affairs officials say they are looking into what Russia was planning in the area.
“New Zealand is aware of the Russian notice to aircrew and mariners of a planned missile launch and associated potential hazard to international airspace southeast of New Zealand. However, details of the Russian notice are currently unclear and we are seeking further information,” the office of New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said, according to New Zealand newspaper The Post.
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