When the pilots of the Boeing 777 airliner spotted a missile launched from the sea and travelling along their flight path, they were taken aback; military specialists suspected it was a Chinese missile as reported by DailyMail.
Ballistic missile launched
A suspected Chinese ballistic missile launched from a submarine just avoided hitting a passenger plane, forcing it to reverse immediately. Allegiant pilot John Carter released footage on Facebook that purports to show the pilot’s view from the cockpit as a missile launched from the sea and flies into the clouds, leaving a lengthy contrail in the sky.
While watching the rocket soar, the pilots can be heard conversing.
According to John, the footage was shared by a friend who claimed to be a flight attendant for a foreign airline while flying over Sanya in the South China Sea. “Air Traffic Control gave them a last-minute frantic call — ‘bend left 90 degrees quickly,’ he wrote.
“To their surprise, a sea-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) emerged from the sea beneath their previously planned path!”
John felt it was a missile submarine launch by the People’s Liberation Army Navy, with “very little care” for commercial air activity in the vicinity.
Secret testing
He went on to say that the pilots were on a Boeing 777 trans-oceanic flight.
Submarine expert H.I. Sutton also posted the video, saying it “seems genuine from a preliminary view.”
It’s believed that no Notices to Airmen (NOTAM) were sent out to notify aircraft that a missile launch was planned, implying that the test was intended to be done in secret.
On Thursday, May 19, China’s Hainan Maritime Safety Administration issued a public notice stating that military officials will conduct five-day military training exercises till Monday (May 23).
They restricted a 100-square-kilometre area to all maritime trade and forbade all entry.
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Source: DailyMail
