Boeing airplane
Boeing airplaneThinkstock

A British plane narrowly avoided a rocket attack while flying over the Sinai Peninsula in August.

The Thomson Airways jet was approaching the airport in Sharm a-Sheikh and carrying 189 passengers, most of whom were British tourists on vacation. The pilot deftly managed to divert the plane and the rocket missed by only 300 meters.

At first Thomson refused to comment on reports of the incident, but last night (Friday) it announced that "Thomson Airways can confirm that an event was reported by the crew of flight TOM 476 on 23rd August 2015. Upon landing into Sharm el-Sheikh, an initial assessment was conducted and the event was immediately reported to the UK Department for Transport (DfT) in line with established protocol. The DfT conducted a full investigation in conjunction with other UK Government experts. After reviewing the details of the case, the investigation concluded that there was no cause for concern and it was safe to continue our flying programme to Sharm el Sheikh."

Authorities do not believe that the attack on Thomson Airways is related to the recent downing of Russian Metrojet Flight 9268. However, all airlines are currently from flying below 26,000 feet (8,000 meters) over Sinai due to fear of terrorist attacks.