FlightFollowerUK Pilot Fined After Typhoons Intercept a Passenger Flight in the First Prosecution of Its Kind
SAS Connect flight SK4609 was flying from Oslo to Manchester on 5 February 2024 when the aircraft lost two-way radio communication with air traffic control. The Airbus A320neo continued toward the United Kingdom without responding to repeated calls, and the loss of communication lasted more than 30 minutes. That was enough to turn an ordinary communications problem into a security incident: two RAF Typhoons were launched from RAF Coningsby, intercepted the airliner and escorted it to Manchester.
Research and reconstruction
Flight Follower Editorial Team
This reconstruction was researched from official investigation records where they exist, the original air traffic control recording, and contemporary reporting. The aircraft movement, timeline and written account were assembled independently by Flight Follower. Where an investigation is open or no probable cause has been published, the account says so rather than offering one.
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Accident Facts
- Date
- 5 February 2024
- Registration
- EI-SIU
The interception was a consequence of lost communications
The aircraft itself was not reported as an aircraft in distress and there was no indication of a hostile threat. The problem was that controllers could not establish the communication expected from a controlled commercial flight. Public reporting at the time described the loss as brief and temporary, while the later regulatory case established that the communication failure lasted more than 30 minutes and involved the failure to establish two-way communication with the appropriate control unit.
What changed after the aircraft landed
The incident did not end with the aircraft touching down. The CAA investigation treated the communication failure as a regulatory matter because the pilot in command had a duty to maintain the required communication watch and establish two-way communication when required. The aircraft carried 58 passengers.
On 20 March 2025, more than a year after the flight, Hollands pleaded guilty at Manchester Magistrates' Court. The court imposed a £4,511 fine. The CAA described it as the first UK prosecution for this type of lost-communication incident.
The case therefore adds an important second stage to the story. The fighter interception was the immediate operational response; the later prosecution addressed the conduct that led the security system to be activated.
Why the wording matters
It is tempting to describe an escorted airline flight as if it had been treated as a confirmed threat. The official regulatory account does not support that. The available record says that the loss of communications triggered a security incident and the RAF interception, after which the aircraft landed safely.
The CAA identified the relevant rules as SERA.8035 and Article 265(7) of the Air Navigation Order 2016. The case illustrates how an apparently simple radio problem can acquire much larger consequences when controllers cannot establish that a commercial aircraft is responding normally.
The documented finding
“This is the first prosecution for such an incident in the UK.” — UK Civil Aviation Authority
Conclusion
SK4609 did not become a dangerous flight because two Typhoons appeared alongside it; the Typhoons appeared because the communication chain had broken down badly enough to activate a national security response. The later court case makes the incident unusual: it moved from an operational interception to a formal prosecution. The aircraft landed safely, but the episode demonstrated that maintaining two-way communication is not merely a convenience for ATC—it is part of the safety and security structure surrounding controlled commercial operations.