Low-cost Russian airline Pobeda’s flight DP407 from Vnukovo to Koltsovo on 11 November can be seen flying as normal for the majority of the journey.

However, around three quarters of the way through, flight tracking site FlightAware shows the aircraft make a very specific set of detours to make a phallic outline in its flight path.

The Boeing 737 jet landed without incident 22 minutes later than scheduled.

The altered flight path was allegedly the crew’s way of showing solidarity with the Russian football captain, Artem Dzyuba, reports Air Live.  

Dzyuba was recently suspended from his position after footage that showed him appearing to masturbate was leaked online.  

“This was probably the way in which Pobeda captains expressed their support to Russian team captain Artem Dzyuba and showed their attitude to him being bullied,” said a Pobeda spokesman.

The Federal Air Transport Agency said it is investigating the incident to determine whether the crew had permission to carry out the manoeuvres and whether any safety issues arose as a result.

Russian football manager Stanislav Cherchesov has since confirmed that Dzyuba will rejoin the team when international matches resume next March.

Although it may seem a strange show of support, it’s not the first time a pilot has used their flight path to make a distinctive shape.

Christmas trees, airline logos, plane outlines and raised fists have all been “drawn”, while in March this year, a Lufthansa pilot also left a penis outline – though it was unclear whether this was intentional.

Flight LH350 from Frankfurt to Bremen in Germany on 3 March created a shape that resembled male genitalia when the aircraft was forced to circle above the airport upon arrival.  

A picture of the unusual flight path was shared on social media, attracting hundreds of comments.

“So they cocked-up their first pass?” wrote one user, while another replied, “Landing a plane is HARDER than people think.”