A pair of pilots for Russia’s Victory Airlines, a division of Aeroflot, are under investigation after they allegedly deviated from their plotted course in order to create a picture of a man’s genitalia that would appear on radar and flight tracking sites.
The incident is being investigated by Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosavoatsiya, or Rosaviation. The oversight group believes the pilots were expressing their support for Russian soccer star and national team captain Artem Dzyuba, after a video of him masturbating went viral.
The inspection could result in disciplinary action against the pilots.
At some point during the flight from Moscow to Yekaterinburg on Wednesday, Nov. 11, the pilots allegedly carried out a series of turns while in the air space over Bashkiria. When the flight got back on course, the path looked like a phallic symbol.
Rosaviation declined to comment on the incident.
An airline representative said in a statement that said “We do not know what exactly could have been measured in the flight path of our aircraft, but it is possible that the captains of “Victory” so expressed support for the captain of the national football team Artem Dzyuba and showed their attitude to his bullying.”
Dzyuba was roundly criticized for the viral video.
