Sweden says Russian spy planes are getting in the way of commercial flights and the Swedes would like it to stop. “This is serious. This is inappropriate. This is outright dangerous when you turn off the transponder,” Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist said on Swedish radio. According to ETurbo, Hultqvist said a passenger aircraft taking off from Copenhagen came close to the Russian plane, which had apparently turned off all its normal ident gear. The incident occurred in international airspace. Swedish fighters found the Russian aircraft and it was identified as a spy plane.
Sweden’ air force commander, Maj. Gen. Micael Byden, said the incident looked “pretty serious” and the commercial aircraft had to change course. It was bound for Poland but the airline and aircraft type have not been revealed. Last March, a Russian spy plane flying dark came within 300 feet of an SAS airliner that had also taken off from Copenhagen.
