Russian Flight Plan Error Sparks False Alarm Over Italy

19 December 2005 -- The Italian air force says it deployed a fighter jet yesterday to intercept a Russian executive aircraft whose pilots sparked a false alarm by failing to file their flight plans.

Reports say the Italian F-16 was deployed after the Russian plane entered Italian airspace.

After the pilots explained their oversight, the Russian plane was escorted to Venice airport.

The Italian air force said this was the 46th false alert since the beginning of the year in the country.

(AFP)