Italian civilian airliner loses all communication over Slovakia, it is escorted to Ukrainian border by MiG-29 interceptors
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- Date: 23.06.2019
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As part of the North Atlantic Alliance’s NATINAMDS, two MiG-29 Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) interceptors were scrambled from Sliač Air Base this evening (23 June 2019) to establish contact with an Italian civilian airliner that had lost all communication. The incident led to an alpha scramble after the ATC had no communication with the Italian Airbus A320, while it was transiting the territory of Slovakia on its flight route from Milan to Charkov.
On their way to the airliner, today at approximately 21.30hrs local time, the interceptors experienced a sonic boom, a loud bang similar to an explosion, as they broke the sound barrier. The MOD would like to apologise for this inconvenience. Yet situations like this may occur when the SVK Air Force is called upon to protect Slovak citizens, because it is responsible for the security of Slovak airspace 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Scrambles are an integral part of QRA operations.
As part of NATINAMDS, QRA interceptors are tasked with not only intercepting an intruder to SVK airspace, but also assisting aircraft in emergencies such as loss of communication or hijacking. Loss of communication is cited as the most frequent reason for alpha scrambles of SVK Air Force QRA interceptors.
On their way to the airliner, today at approximately 21.30hrs local time, the interceptors experienced a sonic boom, a loud bang similar to an explosion, as they broke the sound barrier. The MOD would like to apologise for this inconvenience. Yet situations like this may occur when the SVK Air Force is called upon to protect Slovak citizens, because it is responsible for the security of Slovak airspace 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Scrambles are an integral part of QRA operations.
As part of NATINAMDS, QRA interceptors are tasked with not only intercepting an intruder to SVK airspace, but also assisting aircraft in emergencies such as loss of communication or hijacking. Loss of communication is cited as the most frequent reason for alpha scrambles of SVK Air Force QRA interceptors.
