Airliner 'Briefly' Out Of Contact With Air Traffic Controllers

On the same day that EgyptAir Flight MS804 disappeared from radar over the Mediterranean Sea, another airliner was involved in an incident that fortunately had a much different outcome.

The U.K. newspaper The Daily Mail reports that a Delta Airlines flight from Frankfurt, Germany to Kuwait was intercepted by Greek fighters after controllers were unable to contact the cockpit crew.

The plane failed to make contact with Greek authorities when it entered that country's airspace about 1910 local time. It was only hours after the EgyptAir flight had vanished from radar, and controllers feared the worst.

Two Greek F-16s were scrambled to intercept the plane. They also were unable to raise the cockpit crew on the radio, and while they could see the pilots in the cockpit of the 767-400, they reportedly also did not respond to light signals.

Contact was finally established with the crew.

Delta said in a statement to the paper that "While transiting to Greek airspace, the flight crew of Delta flight 8957, a charter operation from Hahn, Germany to Kuwait, was unable to establish radio communications with Greek air traffic control for a short period.

"This occurred during a handoff between air traffic control agencies and communications were expeditiously reestablished.

"At no point did the Boeing 767-400ER leave its planned route of flight."

Delta says that media reports that the flight crew were both asleep are "completely untrue."

Apparently that "short period" was long enough for the jets to be scrambled and intercept the airliner.

(Image from file. Not incident airplane)

FMI: www.delta.com