Strange flight path AN12 Rooshian A/c

[Peter-RB]

Being bored and having little to do whilst waiting for some folk to ring me I turned on the Flight-radar program, looking around my area I noticed a large A/c without any call-sign, so following the system it told me this was a Russian AN 12 big 4 prop job, coming into the UK via Newcastle it then flew in a big semi circle past Bolton, to the O/H Manchester down through the stoke area and on to possibly Nottingham Airport, where it disappeared from the screen so presumed to have landed there.

Why would this a/c take such a longer route to the presumed landing at Nottinham when it could have shortened by many miles and less crowded airspace had it arrived in Notts via the Lincoln coast, do these thing carry cameras, does anyone ever check such things.

Peter RB
Lancashire

[Dash8driver1312]

Same reason as Zeppelins used to cruise up and down the North Sea just outside territorial waters in the late 1930s.

The invasion starts next week.

[Bravo73]

Why would this a/c take such a longer route to the presumed landing at Nottinham when it could have shortened by many miles and less crowded airspace had it arrived in Notts via the Lincoln coast,

Airways? .....

[diginagain]

Must have made an interesting sight for the spotter fraternity at Tollerton.

[Whirling Wizardry]

It might have been an Open Skies Treaty flight taking in a lengthy series of aerial imagery for the Ruskies to ponder over and check we (The Brits) aren't up to no good! More likely to have landed at East Mids than Nottingham given the crash cat cover needed for something that big.