Pilot mistakes planet Venus for another plane

TORONTO (AP/CNN) — Canada's Transportation Safety Board says a groggy Air Canada pilot who mistakenly believed his jet was about to smash into another plane forced a sudden dive that caused 16 injuries among passengers and crew on a transatlantic flight from Toronto to Zurich.

It turns out that other plane was actually the planet Venus, according to a CNN report.

The Transportation Safety Board report released Monday notes that those hurt aboard the Boeing 767 had failed to comply with lit seatbelt signs.

Jon Lee, the investigator in charge, says the occurrence underscores the challenge of managing fatigue on the flight deck.

The terrifying 46 seconds in which the plane dived 120 meters (400 feet) then lurched 240 meters (800 feet) back upward occurred in January 2011 aboard an overnight Air Canada flight.