
The leadership of Pobeda ("Victory") Airlines is under scrutiny after social media found that the flight path of a recent trip from Moscow to Yekaterinburg took on the shape of a... sneezing elephant.
The November 10 maneuver was done, according to the airline, as a way to dump excess fuel. After all, they argue, the pilot had permission from ground control for the route.
Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency, investigating the flight that was carrying 102 passengers at the time, asserts that the deviation from normal routes was done in support of Artem Dzyuba, a player on Russia's national soccer team who is currently embroiled in scandal after an intimate video of him leaked online. The massive, airborne coconut tree, per this argument, is a symbol of solidarity and a rejection of the team's coach's decision not to allow him to play this season.
We can't say that, if we were airline pilots, we couldn't resist the temptation to sometimes make a big rocket ship in the sky.
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