# How real is the possibility of a collision with a Russian plane? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 25, 2014, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-real-is-the-possibility-of-a-collision-with-a-russian-plane/705628 "2014-11-25T21:44:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dahu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dahu/32/3416_2.png) [@Dahu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahu)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-real-is-the-possibility-of-a-collision-with-a-russian-plane/705628/1 "2014-11-25T21:44:57Z")
This is on the BBC website- > **[Could the world return to the 1980s?](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-30177725)** > > The BBC's World Affairs Editor is hopeful that the world will pull back from the Cold War of 30 years ago. They say > [@](#): > > Russian aircraft regularly fly straight towards Western European airspace, and are turned away at the last instant by Nato fighters. > > There is a real possibility that one or other of these Russian pilots, their transponders switched off, and deaf to the guidance of civil aviation controllers, will smash into a civilian passenger aircraft. If a Russian plane did this, how real is the “real possibility” that it might collide with a civilian plane? Should I avoid flying for a while? ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-real-is-the-possibility-of-a-collision-with-a-russian-plane/705628/2 "2014-11-25T22:18:32Z")
> [@Dahu](#): > > Should I avoid flying for a while? They have been doing it for decades now, and you will probably have to wait decades to see an end to it … How dangerously they fly depends on their own selves… do they have radar set to show civilian air craft ? Well of course a military plane has lots of equipment and is also the arena is being observed by support air craft and ground equipment… But they do not know why an aircraft disappeared. Perhaps it landed, or perhaps they have lost track of it somehow… the computer decided not to show it, due to a glitch, for a few minutes ? ---
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-real-is-the-possibility-of-a-collision-with-a-russian-plane/705628/3 "2014-11-26T02:13:59Z")
A slight possibility that they could hit a civilian plane. An almost impossible possibility that it would hit an aircraft that you are flying on unless you fly daily in that area. Even then it’s next to zero. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-real-is-the-possibility-of-a-collision-with-a-russian-plane/705628/4 "2014-11-26T02:19:30Z")
You’d think that civil air traffic control would track both the Russian planes and the civilian airliners and direct the airliners away from the Russians. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-real-is-the-possibility-of-a-collision-with-a-russian-plane/705628/5 "2014-11-26T04:14:31Z")
Soviet fighters used to harass US aircraft during the Berlin Airlift. It’s the Same Old Same Old. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-real-is-the-possibility-of-a-collision-with-a-russian-plane/705628/6 "2014-11-26T15:14:09Z")
Years ago, still durng the Soviet era, I was told that all flight control communications all over the world are in English, except Aeroflot flights, who have their own flight controller at every airport, who communicates with the pilot in Russian. Even at airports that have only one Aeroflot flight per week. I had no reason to doubt the source of my information, and I have no idea whether that policy might still be in place. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-real-is-the-possibility-of-a-collision-with-a-russian-plane/705628/7 "2014-11-26T18:51:28Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Years ago, still durng the Soviet era, I was told that all flight control communications all over the world are in English, except Aeroflot flights, who have their own flight controller at every airport, who communicates with the pilot in Russian. Even at airports that have only one Aeroflot flight per week. I had no reason to doubt the source of my information, and I have no idea whether that policy might still be in place. I find it hard to imagine that many Western countries would now, or ever have allowed a Russian in their FTCs ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-real-is-the-possibility-of-a-collision-with-a-russian-plane/705628/8 "2014-11-26T22:32:27Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > I find it hard to imagine that many Western countries would now, or ever have allowed a Russian in their FTCs Aeroflot didn’t fly to many western countries.