A MID-AIR crash between three military aircraft in the skies above North Yorkshire was only narrowly avoided, a new report has revealed.
Investigators recommended RAF Linton-On Ouse review its standard operating procedures after the incident, which took place on October 7 last year over Easingwold. Two Hawk jets approaching the airbase were only 70 metres away from colliding with a student pilot in a propeller Tucano.
The report was published by the UK Airprox Board, an independent watchdog for civil and military aviation, who gave it an ‘A’ risk rating – their most severe.
It said the Hawk pilots asked radar operators guide them in, but converted to a ‘visual approach’ as they neared the base, and were told by the control tower there was “no radar traffic to affect”.
But at an altitude of about 2,000 feet, the three aircraft came within 70 metres of each other about four miles from the airbase, before the Tucano broke left in an evasive action to avoid a potentially catastrophic crash.
The report claimed that the incident, which took place at about 3.45pm in poor visibility, highlighted a problem with language used during air traffic instruction.
It said the Hawk pilots were told there was ‘no radar traffic to affect’, which “while technically accurate, would have lulled the Hawk pilots into a false sense of security”, as the pilot would be conditioned to accept the response without question.
Although the report questioned the use of language by personnel, it also said: “whether traffic information has been passed or not, a pilot is expected to discharge his collision avoidance responsibility without assistance from the controller”.
It said: “This incident highlights the fact that all measures to reduce the chance of mid-air collisions are fallible and that crews must apply rigorous lookout scans at all times.”
There were more than the three aircraft over the area at the time, including a Tutor aircraft, based at Church Fenton, but it was not known exactly how many aircraft were in the sky at the time of the incident.
The report said there was nothing that Air Traffic Control (ATC), personnel could have done to prevent the occurrence. It said although they did “the minimum that was expected of them”, none of the ATC staff had considered the “big picture”, which led to the incident.
A spokesman from RAF Linton on Ouse said: “Our Flight Safety and Air Traffic Control officers here at Linton-on-Ouse will be examining the Airprox report from last October very carefully. “Clearly, we take flight safety extremely seriously. If there are any lessons to be learnt from this incident, we will take them fully on board.”
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