A U.S. Air Force plane turned back on its way to Antarctica after receiving a warning of danger
A U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster military transport aircraft turned back over the ocean during a flight from Christchurch, New Zealand, to the McMurdo Station in Antarctica. According to Space.com, the plane took off on Tuesday, August 18, and changed course approximately two hours into the flight.
New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority told Stuff that the plane turned back after the aggressor state’s Russian air traffic control agency issued a warning about space activity which was potentially hazardous to aviation along the route to Antarctica. The nature of this activity is currently unknown, and the U.S. Air Force had not commented on the incident as of this writing.
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On August 10, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration also issued a NOTAM—a notice to airmen—for a large area of airspace over Australia and the Indian Ocean. The notice for the Melbourne Flight Information Region stated that Russian aerospace activity would take place starting August 14 and that debris might be present in several areas.
As Space.com notes, this NOTAM may have been related to the C-17’s turn, though there is no confirmation of this. The publication also notes that air traffic restrictions have previously been imposed due to the uncontrolled reentry of space debris into the atmosphere. Similar warnings may also be issued during weapons tests, particularly those involving ballistic missiles that reach high altitudes.
