[meteorite-list] Meteor Caused Israeli Plane Alert

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:00:05 2004
Message-ID: <200207070409.VAA09549_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_2107000/2107710.stm

'Meteor' caused Israeli plane alert
BBC News
July 6, 2002

Ukrainian officials say the "strong flash" reported by the pilot of an
Israeli plane over Ukraine on Thursday was probably caused by a meteor
entering the atmosphere.

In a statement on Saturday, the Ukrainian defence ministry said no missiles
had been fired in the area at the time.

The pilot had reported seeing what he believed to have been a missile
exploding in mid-air at a distance from his aircraft.

Last year, 78 people died when a Russian airliner flying from Israel was hit
over Ukraine by what was believed to have been a stray missile fired during
a military exercise.

The Israeli Government said the El Al plane was never in danger during the
latest incident.

Flash

"Specialists with the Ukraine Space Agency have concluded that it was
probably a light phenomenon resulting from a meteor's entry into the earth's
atmosphere," Ukraine defence ministry spokesman Kostyantyn Khivreno told AFP
news agency.

Mr Kvirenko said the Ukrainian forces had "nothing to do with this".

"We have checked all our missiles, and I can tell you they are all there,"
the AFP quoted him as saying.

"The airplane crews who saw over Ukrainian territory on July 4 a flash that
resembled a missile explosion were observing phenomena of unidentified
origin not related to the activities of the Ukrainian armed forces," the
statement said.

Thursday night's reported incident occurred during a regular El Al flight
from Tel Aviv to Moscow.

The pilot saw a "strong flash" at a distance while flying over
Dnipropetrovsk in Ukraine, El Al said.

A Russian pilot, flying a Urals Airlines plane, told Ukrainian air traffic
controllers that he had also seen a strong flash, according to AFP news
agency.

'Absurd'

But Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma said the suggestion that the incident
involved a Ukrainian missile was "absurd".

"After last year's unfortunate incident, firing missiles is totally banned
in Ukraine," he said.

In October last year, a Tu-154 plane operated by Sibir airlines flying from
Tel Aviv to Novosibirsk in Siberia exploded in mid-air over Ukraine, before
crashing into the Black Sea.

All those on board - most of them Israelis - were killed.

After repeated denials, the Ukrainian defence ministry conceded that one of
its ground-to-air missiles had brought the aircraft down.
Received on Sun 07 Jul 2002 12:09:25 AM PDT