Cathay Pacific flight: crew say they saw North Korean missile test

The crew of Cathay Pacific flight, from San Francisco to Hong Kong, reported seeing a ballistic missile break up and fall out of the sky last week, said the airline.

Flight trackers placed the airplane close to Japan, around the time of Pyongyang’s Hawsong-15 missile test, on 29 November. The missile fell into the Sea of Japan.

The North claimed that its latest intercontinental ballistic missile was capable of striking anywhere in the US but they have not yet proved that it they could mount a miniaturised nuclear warhead on its missile. It’s latest test, however, is likely to strengthen its negotiating power with Washington.

“The flight crew of CX893 reported a sighting of what is suspected to be the re-entry of the recent DPRK test missile,” said an airline spokesman, referring to the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“Though the flight was far from the event location, the crew advised Japan [air traffic control] according to procedures.”

The flight was unaffected and the company has no plans to change existing routes, the airline said.

Cathay Pacific’s general manager of operations, Mark Joey, recounted the message from the crew of the passenger plane to ground staff.

“Be advised, we witnessed the DPRK missile blow up and fall apart near our current location,” the pilots said, according to a report in the South China Morning Post.

The cargo plane – CX096 – may have been even closer to the missile, at a lateral distance of a few hundred metres, added Hoey.

The flight was heading for Alaska, and was also passing over Japan at the time of the missile test.