PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - FR4978 ATH-VNO diverted, escorted to Minsk, alleged bomb threat – but was it?
Old 25th May 2021, 12:35
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Mister Geezer
 
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I would wait for the transcript that is not published by Belarus before casting any aspersions. The Belarusians will naturally be pushing the narrative that the crew were not forced to land at UMMS and could edit any audio transcript to better fit this.

There had to be compelling reasons for the crew to elect to land at UMMS. They started their duty in EYVI and were likely to be very familiar with the airport. Why divert to an airport that is off the company route network which has no handling support and is likely to be unfamiliar to both pilots, when what is likely to have been their home base, is closer?
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