Trouble in the UK

[ozzy72]

Air accident investigators have urged the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to review procedures after a series of near misses between fast military planes and passenger aircraft.
The most recent incident, described as a "serious airprox" (aircraft proximity), occurred between an RAF Tornado and a helicopter returning to Aberdeen from an oil platform on February 5.
In another case, on October 1 last year, an Airbus A319 approaching Newcastle airport was told to take avoiding action from a military aircraft.
There was another airprox, or near miss, between a Jetstream 32 flying from Teesside to Aberdeen and two military jets south of Aberdeen on June 24 last year.
These and other recent incidents were detailed in an Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) report which recommended the MoD should review the operation of military aircraft in the north east of the UK.
The AAIB also recommended the Civil Aviation Authority should look at arrangements to ensure civilian aircraft are properly protected from military aircraft in the north east of the UK.
The AAIB report gave details of an incident on April 22 2002, in which the crew of a Dash 8 travelling from Newcastle to Stavanger in Norway reported as an airprox an incident with two Sea Harriers on an air defence exercise 30 miles north east of Newcastle airport.
The report said the pilots of the Harriers had wrongly identified their target and broke off as soon as they recognised it as a civilian aircraft. They had not realised their mistake until they came within visual range.
The report also said that on March 20 2000 an RAF Tornado F3 had come within about 300ft horizontally and 100ft vertically of a Shorts SD-360 aircraft bound for Newcastle.
None of the crew in either aircraft saw the other aircraft until after the point of closest approach.

[eno]

I know the skys over the UK are some of the most crowded in the world .... but this seems to be becoming a regular occurance.
It makes one wonder how many UNreported incidents there are  :(

[Saitek]

It's just a matter of time.... -  may it never happen .
That last case is frighteningly alarming. U'd think that with all the modern tech. such an incident would never occur. Totally bazzare I say :-/

Regards
Ben

[Hagar]

I often wonder if some of these "near misses" are deliberate. I worked for several years at Rustington, near Littlehampton, on the south coast. This was directly on the route to the firing ranges off Portsmouth. We used to see a pair of Harriers or Tornados (they were always in pairs) streak low overhead at about 1,000 feet or less. They seemed to be aimed directly at an unsuspecting light aircraft puttering along the coast towards Shoreham Airport. They would break away at the last minute before dropping down to zero feet over the sea. One either side. Zap.......! Zap........!

This happened too regularly to be a coincidence. I always suspected the RAF crews used the light aircraft as a target & homed in on them to practice radar interception. I never found out if the pilots of the light aircraft knew anything about it or reported it. I can't see how it would be possible for them not to have heard them go past even if they didn't see them coming. I reckon brown trousers was the order of the day.

[Craig.]

Doug personally i'd love to see that while flying along, as long as the fighter pilots can see you all the time your ok. prob puts a few pilots off though.

As for these close calls, there is no excuse for it. This is what happens when there arnt enough controllers, and too many aircraft.

[Hagar]

Doug personally i'd love to see that while flying along, as long as the fighter pilots can see you all the time your ok. prob puts a few pilots off though.

I'm not sure I have your confidence. It would be brown trousers time for me. What happens if it's a rookie pilot on their first solo cross country? They have enough to think about without being scared out of their wits. I dread to think what the experience would do to Fozzer.

As for these close calls, there is no excuse for it. This is what happens when there arnt enough controllers, and too many aircraft.

When I was on t' committee of my R/C model aircraft club I was told that the whole of the UK is classified as a military low-flying zone. This might be necessary in times of conflict but maybe now the skies are so crowded it's time they changed it.

[Craig.]

on a first solo flight that would scare anyone. but if your with an instructor at least you have someone there with experiance who could stand a chance of recovering it in the event of a problem.
I have never understood why the military seems to have free use of the skies, like you said in war time maybe. But the whole aviation rules seem to be way to lax on the military.

[Hagar]

if your with an instructor at least you have someone there with experiance who could stand a chance of recovering it in the event of a problem.

True but if my suspicions are correct you should never be put in that position deliberately. We used to find this very amusing to watch but it's actually a hazardous situation for the people involved. One little slip & innocent people could easily be killed. I'm sure it's against all regulations, even for the military.

[Tequila Sunrise]

I dread to think what the experience would do to Fozzer

What makes you think Fozz wouldn't try and buzz the tonkas  ;D