Cathay Pacific pilots selected wrong radio frequency before NATO jets intercepted flight, investigation finds

CAD previously expressed “serious concern” over the incident, which first came to light when Hungarian Minister of Defence Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi said that two fighter jets had been scrambled under NATO’s quick reaction alert.

The jets were deployed after “an A350 aircraft registered in China, operating a Hong Kong to London flight, failed to establish contact with Romanian civilian air traffic control while still in Romanian airspace”, the minister said in a post on Facebook in July.

Following the incident, Cathay Pacific implemented a host of “improvement measures”, CAD said – which included “enhancing the operational and monitoring procedures for the flight crew regarding the communication system and reminding them to be more vigilant at all times”.

It also said that it had instructed the airline to “robustly follow up on relevant improvement measures”, including “providing additional training and assessment for the concerned flight crew”.

“CAD reiterated the importance of maintaining good communications between the flight crew and air traffic controllers at all times to ensure aviation safety,” the statement said.

Cathay Pacific has since implemented the “related improvement measures” in mid-July, it added.

“CAD will continue to closely monitor the effectiveness of the measures implemented by (Cathay Pacific),” it said.

Responding to CNA’s queries, a spokesperson for Cathay Pacific said that the airline takes the event “extremely seriously”.

“A number of improvement measures have been put in place so as to further reduce the likelihood of recurrence,” the spokesperson said. 

The aircraft had also “remained on its authorised route and altitude at all times during the event” and “at no point was there any impact to the safety of the flight”.

“We will continue to work closely with regulators to support the highest standards of operational safety,” the spokesperson added.