Originally Posted by
SpringHeeledJack
It could be noise related, it could be cargo related. It could, of course, be errors in FR24's data, it wouldn't be the first time. I've seen AN-12/24's flying from the UK to N.Europe hugging the coastlines and taking a much longer route to not have a long transit over water, for reasons unknown.
I was considering those options but...
a) keeping noise or hazardous cargo away from population centres: it went straight over the top of Frankfurt, Luxembourg City and Geneva to name but three.
b) reluctance to go overwater: The stretch between Southern France and just east of the Balearics is a longer overwater stretch than anything it would have covered if flying in a straightish line from Bourgas to Algiers.
c) dodgy FR24 data: Possible, but like I say I watched the flight in progress over a fair stretch of its route. Looking at FR24's plot there looks to be an anomaly around Bourgas, but the rest of it looks legit...
Strange goings-on.