MINSK, 28 May (BelTA) - Director of the Aviation Department Artyom Sikorsky took part in a videoconference meeting of the ICAO Council to discuss the incident with the landing of a Ryanair aircraft at Minsk National Airport on 27 May, BelTA learned from the department.
The meeting was attended by 36 member states of the ICAO Council. Representatives of Lithuania, Poland and Ireland attended as interested parties.
“Director of the Aviation Department Artyom Sikorsky spoke on behalf of Belarus and urged to conduct a fact-finding investigation in accordance with the Chicago Convention and to refrain from making conclusions until such investigation is completed. As a result of the meeting, all ICAO Council members agreed on the need to conduct such a probe in accordance with the Chicago Convention,” the department said.
BelTA reported earlier that an aircraft of the air carrier Ryanair was flying over Belarus on the way from Athens to Vilnius on 23 May. The aircraft sent a distress signal. The airport received the signal at 12:50. The FR4978 flight squawked code 7700 – it is the main emergency code, which signifies an emergency situation on board. A message about a bomb on board the aircraft was the reason for the distress call.
The pilot-in-command decided to divert the aircraft to the Minsk National Airport where the aircraft landed at 13:15. Emergency response teams of the airport, ambulances, aviation security personnel, and K9 specialists had already been waiting for the aircraft at the parking apron. Prompt investigation measures were taken. Additional units of the Emergencies Ministry arrived. Representatives of law enforcement agencies worked on site.
There were 123 passengers on board. All of them went through an additional aviation security check and were delivered to the airport's transit lounge for investigation measures. The luggage was also removed from the aircraft and submitted to an additional security check. The tip about the bomb on board the aircraft proved false. The aircraft left the Minsk National Airport for Vilnius at 20:48.
The Investigative Committee branch of Minsk's Oktyabrsky District has opened a criminal case into a knowingly false report about danger in line with part 1, Article 340 of the Criminal Code.
The Belarusian authorities have repeatedly expressed readiness to provide all the materials to international experts on the incident, to investigate all the circumstances as openly as possible.
