A Russian navy ship sails past exploding anti-missile ordnance during celebrations to mark Navy Day in the far eastern Russian port of Vladivostok July 27, 2014. REUTERS/Yuri Maltsev
IN PHOTO: A Russian navy ship sails past exploding anti-missile ordnance during celebrations to mark Navy Day in the far eastern Russian port of Vladivostok July 27, 2014. Reuters/Yuri Maltsev

Russia finds itself in hot water once more as one of its planes nearly collided with a passenger aircraft in Sweden. According to Swedish authorities, the Russian aircraft turned off its transponder in hopes of avoiding commercial radar but this backfired as it nearly hit another plane.

The incident is the second time in a row a Russian aircraft tried avoiding commercial radar by turning off its transponder. The said aircraft nearly collided with a passenger jet over Sweden. Swedish authorities claimed that the passenger jet took off from Copenhagen in Denmark according to The Guardian.

Major General Micael Bydén, chief of Sweden's air force chief, confirmed that the transponder was off. Sweden sent fighter jets to identify the plane. The officials later confirmed that it was a Russian intelligence plane.

Swedish defence minister Peter Hultqvist aired a statement over Swedish radio: "This is serious. This is inappropriate. This is outright dangerous when you turn off the transponder."

Russia has been increasing its forces over the Baltic Sea drawing attention from different parts of the globe. Some nations expressed their concern over this with NATO keeping a close watch.

Amidst reports over the danger posed by the Russian plane, Scandinavian Airlines clarified that details have been "blown out of proportion." Knut Morten Johansen, spokesperson for the airline, explained that their flight did not need to change course. The pilot instead had to ask for advice from traffic control. The official said: "No security borders were breached."

Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, Russian Defense Ministry, clarified that the flight made sure it was distanced appropriately from the passenger jet. He shared with TASS (via CNN): "No prerequisites existed for an air accident related with a flight of a Russian warplane in the international air space over the Baltic Sea on Friday."

Russia has been under fire with the United States pushing for more sanctions over its military actions in Ukraine. NATO also noted via NBC news that it is preparing for more aggressive response should Russia continue to escalate its activities. Russia maintained its position over Ukraine and responded angrily over the additional sanctions saying it will retaliate when necessary.