Jets disappear from the radar Assad could have escaped on this mysterious route

Two planes suddenly disappear from the radar: Bashar al-Assad apparently wanted to cover his tracks on his flight to Moscow. Flight data points to the possible route of the ousted dictator.

For the Kremlin, it was a matter of course to grant asylum to ousted Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and his family "on humanitarian grounds". Vladimir Putin made the decision personally, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

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But how was Assad, who has always maintained the closest of contacts with Putin, able to escape from Syria in the midst of the rebels' lightning offensive? Der Spiegel has reconstructed the probable escape route. Two mysterious flights play a role in this.

Aircraft suddenly disappears from radar

Initially, it was considered likely that Assad had died in a plane crash while fleeing. This was reported by the Reuters news agency, citing Syrian sources. In fact, two planes suddenly disappeared from the radar near the city of Homs.

An analysis of flight movements in Syria by Flightradar24 provides clues. The focus is initially on the mysterious flight SYR9218. The Russian Ilyushin IL-76T cargo plane took off from Damascus early on Sunday morning. Less than half an hour later, it reached the area around Homs and quickly lost altitude.

Then, at an altitude of only 500 meters, the plane suddenly can no longer be detected. The signal is gone. However, a crash is unlikely based on the available flight data: the plane was descending at a normal rate of 500 to 600 meters per minute. This is no different when approaching an airport.

Nevertheless, it is unusual for the aircraft to disappear from the radar. However, a transponder can be switched off manually relatively easily.

Mysterious private jet from Abu Dhabi

A few hours earlier, the transponder signal had already failed on another aircraft at a similar location. This was an Embraer-600 private jet, registration number C5-SKY. The aircraft had recently been flying regularly between Abu Dhabi and Damascus.

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The Al Quseyr military airport is located near the spot where both planes lost the signal. Basar presumably changed planes here to cover his tracks.

According to Der Spiegel, the private jet's signal reappeared shortly after half past nine. Two and a half hours later, the plane lands in the United Arab Emirates. Numerous flights to Russia have taken off from there in recent days. Bashar al-Assad could have been on board one of them.