A pilot became confused when the Malaysia Airlines flight he was leading started flying in the wrong direction. Flight MH132 heading directly from Auckland Airport to Kuala Lumpur surprised the pilot when he noticed the plane was heading south toward Melbourne, according to the New Zealand Herald.


About eight minutes into the flight that left at 2.23am, the pilot contacted air traffic controllers in Auckland to see why the flight was not taking a more direct path to Malaysia.

He then steered the plane across the Tasman Sea and began heading northwest to the Malaysian capital.

Passengers were told not about the mix-up.

A spokeswoman with Airways - New Zealand's air navigation provider - told the Herald that a safety team will be investigating