MICROLIGHT / TORNADO AIRPROX - Headon Airfield UK

[Phil Perry]

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/mar/28/raf-tornado-fighter-nearly-hit-microlight-map-error-nottinghamshire-airfield

[pmccarthy]

The pucker factor would have been maximum for the ultralight pilot.

 

 

[Phil Perry]

A couple of interesting things mentioned in that brief news report; it was interesting to note that Headon Airfield itself was actually positioned incorrectly by a half mile on the Nav chart, allowing a discrepancy with the military gps. . . . makes you wonder how many others are similarly mis-charted dunnit ?. . . Not much of a problem I guess, if the site was in the middle of nowhere, but UK airspace is quite "Busy" in a lot of areas. lots of facilities and overlapping airspace etc. The RAF commander was evidently "Mildly" admonished for adopting his low flight profile where he perhaps could have delayed until he was further away from where the incident was recorded due to relatively high civvy traffic volume, and he did not, apparently, see the other aircraft at all.

 

Anyway, No collision, so that's the important thing. I guess the civil servants will say "Lessons have been learned. . ."