According to media reports, either Russian air traffic control issued a confusing instruction to a Chinese aircraft flying at over 10,000 meters, or the pilot misinterpreted a command. Either way, a catastrophic collision over Siberia was narrowly avoided between the Shanghai-bound plane and another flight headed to Budapest.

Seconds to collision in Russian airspace

The incident involved an SF Airlines cargo plane that had departed from Budapest en route to Ezhou, China, and an Air China passenger jet travelling from Shanghai to Milan. A disaster was averted thanks to both luck and the onboard Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), which triggered evasive action by the Air China pilot.

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Both flights were on the same route on 6 July, but flying at different altitudes. The situation escalated unexpectedly when the passenger aircraft climbed from 10,400 meters to 11,000 meters—despite reportedly receiving no such instruction from Russian air traffic controllers, according to The Independent. As a result of the manoeuvre, the two planes came within 90 to 120 meters of each other, far less than the 300-meter safe vertical separation required by protocol. The TCAS system immediately activated, prompting evasive action from both cockpits to avoid a mid-air collision.