A Christmas Day flight on beleaguered carrier Malaysia Airlines was supposed to head directly northwest to Kuala Lumpur from Auckland, New Zealand. Instead, the flight path headed south, causing the pilot to request clarification on his route.
The mistake -- though relatively minor with no injuries or even significant delays -- is the latest public embarrassment for the airline.
Eight minutes into Flight 132, the pilot contacted air traffic control to ask why the route was taking the plane toward Melbourne. The pilot corrected the course, heading northwest to then head in the right direction.
"Our flight MH132 from Auckland to Kuala Lumpur was given the latest flight plan by the airline's operations dispatch centre whilst Auckland's Air Traffic Control was inadvertently given an earlier flight plan," the airline said in a statement.
FlightAware shows how the Christmas Day flight path differed from a typical path for the route.
"The flight plan the airline filed with us was going to Kuala Lumpur but via a slightly different route than the pilot was expecting," a spokeswoman with Airways, New Zealand's air navigation provider, said in a statement.
Malaysia Airlines has initiated an internal investigation of the incident.