Wrong radio frequency by Cathay crew led to Nato jet interception: report

The flight crew of Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways selected the wrong radio frequency due to a mistaken response to instructions, leading to the London-bound flight’s loss of communication with the local air traffic control unit over Romanian airspace last month, an investigation report has revealed.

The Hong Kong government said on Friday that the Civil Aviation Department had completed its 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 Pacific] 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 Civil Aviation Department expressed “serious concern” over the incident, adding it had instructed Cathay Pacific to robustly follow up on the relevant improvement measures, such as providing additional training and assessment for the crew involved.