Close call: Russian military nearly fires on Aeroflot Boeing 737 after mistaking it for a drone
Russian Social media channels have been abuzz with claims that a Russian Aerospace Defense team reportedly confused an Aeroflot passenger plane with a drone near Sheremetyevo Airport, putting the aircraft in jeopardy. An audio recording of the incident was shared, highlighting the tense cockpit conversations as the defense unit targeted the civilian aircraft, mistakenly identifying it as a drone.
During the episode, where Russian military forces were countering Ukrainian drone attacks on a nearby military site, Aeroflot flight AFL1845 found itself in the crosshairs. The incident was first reported on journalist Alexander Nevzorov's Telegram channel, suggesting that a Boeing 737-800, capable of carrying 162-189 passengers, narrowly escaped being hit by the Pantsir air defense system. Nevzorov's source, who remains unnamed, provided the crucial audio clip where a pilot urgently issues a Mayday call explaining, "This is a civilian flight. Permission has been granted. We are under attack by air defense. This is not a target. There are humans onboard."
The cited incident transpired in the early hours of July 11, as per Nevzorov. The flight, originally from Minsk, managed to land safely despite sustaining minor damages. FlightAware documented flight AFL1845, indicating its departure from Minsk at 11:27 PM Moscow time on July 10 and arrival in Moscow at 12:36 AM. The flight path map displayed nothing out of the ordinary regarding its trajectory.
Ukraine's drone strikes also hit Russian military installations, with the city of Dubno reportedly targeted and combat actions occurring nearby in Tula and Kolomna. Official comments from Rosaviatsiya and Russian authorities on the incident at Sheremetyevo are yet to emerge.
This echoes a prior incident where Russian air defense mistakenly shot down an Azerbaijani aircraft in December 2024 killing 38 people, which led to a diplomatic fallout between Russia and Azerbaijan.