Bus driver may have downed explosive-laden drone near Ukrainian plane in Leipzig - Welt
Photo: Ukrainian Antonov aircraft (Getty Images)
According to one line of the investigation, the drone ended up on the ground during a tour of Leipzig/Halle Airport. However, investigators are also considering another version of events, according to Welt.
There are differing accounts of how the drone ended up on the ground. According to one version documented by police, a bus driver conducting a tour of Leipzig/Halle Airport brought down the low-flying drone.
Another version suggests the driver found the drone already lying on its side and simply turned it over.
The drone itself was spotted by an employee of PortGround GmbH on the airport apron at around 11:42 p.m. local time on Tuesday. The device was lying just a few meters from a Ukrainian Antonov cargo plane.
A package containing explosives, believed to be Semtex plastic explosive, was attached to the drone. Federal police officers classified the object as a possible improvised explosive device.
The drone was carrying an attached payload. According to information obtained by WELT, tests indicate it was Semtex explosive. Developed in Czechoslovakia in the 1960s, Semtex is used for military purposes and demolition work.
According to security authorities, the device failed to detonate only because of a malfunctioning detonator, which was later removed by a bomb disposal unit.
German security agencies believe the incident may have been an attempted attack. The discovery triggered a major police operation, and air traffic at the airport was temporarily suspended.
Leipzig/Halle Airport is regularly used by Antonov Airlines as a base for its cargo aircraft.
As previously reported, operations at Leipzig Airport were temporarily suspended overnight on August 5 after a suspicious object was discovered near a Ukrainian aircraft.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt described the incident as "a new level of danger" for the country and a "hybrid threat scenario."
German media later reported, citing a police report, that the An-124 aircraft was allegedly carrying ammunition and that the drone may have collided with another unmanned aircraft while in the air.
However, the airport operator and Antonov Airlines denied those claims, stating that the aircraft was empty at the time of the incident.
