Mysterious Activity Interrupts US Military Aircraft Flight
A US C-17 Globemaster III returned to Christchurch after a warning forwarded to New Zealand by Russia's air traffic agency regarding a planned missile launch.
A US C-17 Globemaster III returned to Christchurch after a warning forwarded to New Zealand by Russia's air traffic agency regarding a planned missile launch.
A US military C-17 Globemaster III aircraft, which took off from Christchurch on Tuesday morning bound for Antarctica, was forced to return after a warning about "potentially hazardous" space activity, New Zealand authorities have confirmed. The flight, designated ICE28, turned around and landed back in Christchurch shortly before 11:30 a.m. local time, after approximately 150 minutes of flight, according to data from flight tracking website Flightradar24.
New Zealand's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) issued a warning known as a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) on Tuesday after being notified of the hazard by Russia's air traffic management agency. In a subsequent statement released on Wednesday, the CAA clarified that it concerned a planned missile launch and the "associated potential risk to international airspace" within New Zealand's Oceanic Flight Information Region (FIR), a 30 million square kilometer area, one of the largest airspaces in the world.
According to a report by Space.com, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a NOTAM on August 10 for a vast area of airspace over Australia and the Indian Ocean, known as the Melbourne Flight Information Region (YMMM). That warning stated that "Russian space activities" would be underway from August 14 and that there was "possible debris" in several zones within that vast airspace. The warning was still active on Tuesday when the C-17 turned back, suggesting a possible connection to this incident.
The CAA emphasized that the warning does not prohibit flights through the area. "We established a danger zone and issued a NOTAM to alert aircraft operators to a potential hazard. This does not prevent aircraft from flying through the area; operators make decisions based on available information," the CAA said in a statement carried by CNN.
They added that "much of our Oceanic FIR lies over international waters, where we have limited control over activities." This refers to the airspace over the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea, where the CAA is responsible for aircraft flying at certain altitudes.
Space.com notes that falling space debris has previously caused airspace closures. In November 2022, the core stage of a Chinese Long March 5B rocket re-entered the atmosphere uncontrolled over Spain, leading to multiple precautionary airspace closures. In January 2025, SpaceX's Starship spacecraft exploded during its seventh test flight, scattering fiery debris over the Atlantic Ocean near the Turks and Caicos Islands, prompting the FAA to activate a "Debris Response Area."
The flight was scheduled during the annual Winter Fly-in (WINFLY) period, when flights between Christchurch and the US research station McMurdo Station and New Zealand's Scott Base in Antarctica resume. This is an intensive period for transporting personnel, equipment, and supplies ahead of the summer research season.
CNN has sought comment from the US Air Force, the US Antarctic Program, and Russia's air traffic management agency. CNN's Aaron Cooper, Martin Goillandeau, and Anna Chernova contributed to this report.
