Belarusian authorities have released an air traffic control transcript which they claim comes from the cockpit of the flight that was forced to land in Minsk at the weekend.
According to reports, the Ryanair pilot in control of flight FR4978 repeatedly questioned information about an alleged bomb threat and why he was being asked to divert to Minsk.
The flight which was en route from Greece to Lithuania landed in Belarus after a fighter jet was dispatched to fly alongside it. The bomb threat was eventually found to be fake, with suggestions it was made by the Belarusian government in order to detain a journalist onboard the flight who has actively spoken out about the country's president, Alexander Lukashenko.
The journalist was escorted from the aircraft after it landed and is now in police custody.
The following transcript has been published by Reuters, but hasn't been verified.
Cockpit transcript from forced landing of Ryanair flight in Belarus:
Controller: Minsk
Pilot: Yes, go ahead.
Controller: For your information, we have information from special services that you have a bomb on board and it can be activated over Vilnius.
Pilot: Standby.
Pilot: OK, could you repeat the message?
Controller: I say again, we have information from special services that you have a bomb on board. That bomb can be activated over Vilnius.
Pilot: Roger that, standby.
Controller: For security reasons we recommend you to land at UMMS (ICAO code for Minsk airport).
Pilot: Ok...that..it..understood give us alternate please.
Pilot: The bomb....direct message, where did it come from? Where did you have information about it from?
Controller: Standby please.
Pilot: Go ahead.
Controller: Airport security staff informed us they received an email.
Pilot: Roger, Vilnius airport security staff or from Greece?
Controller: This email was shared to several airports.
Pilot: Roger, standby.
Pilot: Again, this recommendation to divert to Minsk where did it come from? Where did it come from? (Our) company? Did it come from departure airport authorities or arrival airport authorities?
Controller: This is our recommendation.
Pilot: Can you say again?
Controller: This is our recommendation.
Pilot: (unreadable.)
Pilot: Did you say that your recommendation?
Controller: Advise your decision please.
Pilot: I need answer the question: what is the code of the (unreadable) green, yellow or amber, red.
Controller: Standby.
Controller: They say code is red.
Pilot: Roger that, in that case we request holding at present position.
Controller: Roger, hold over your position, maintain FL390 (height of 39,000 feet) turns at your own discretion.
Pilot: OK holding at our discretion at present position maintaining FL390.
Pilot: We are declaring an emergency MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY. Our intentions would be to divert to Minsk airport.
Controller: MAYDAY, Roger. Standby for vectors
Once the flight landed at Minsk, and the journalist was removed from the aircraft, it was cleared to continue to its destination.
