Finnish services found the route of the Beechcraft aircraft owned by a Latvian citizen suspicious. The plane was flying to Russia’s Pskov Airport via Helsinki although the Russian city is much closer to Latvia than Finland.
The plane piloted by Latvian and Lithuanian citizens landed in Helsinki Airport without pre-warning, lrt.lt said. It was being taken to a new buyer, according to the report.
One of the pilots, Lithuanian Robertas Petkus, has been flying aircraft to Russia before, according to lrt.lt.
A civil servant, Rytis Dulinskas, is said to have assisted the new owner in buying the aircraft. He is as an adviser to the flight supervision head at the Lithuanian Transport Competence Agency and a manager at Aviacom, private aircraft management company.
Dulinskas told reporters he only helped to find a buyer when asked by a friend. He said he shared an advert for the aircraft on the internet and was in contact with the people who were interested in it.
The plane was still standing in Helsinki on 17 December, according to information available to lrt.lt.
Last year, LRT Investigation Team reported several attempts to fly planes purchased in foreign countries to buyers in Russia, using Lithuanian airspace and other airports in Europe.