Eurofighter came within half a SECOND of hitting private jet in 530mph dive-bomb practice



A Eurofighter came within half a second of hitting a private jet after screaming past the plane at 530mph while diving, it has been revealed.

The RAF’s £138million Typhoon was simulating a bombing run with a ‘high-angled strafe’ when it flew past just 240ft from the Hawker Siddeley 125, which was preparing to land at an airport.

They missed each other by ‘the blink of an eye’, air traffic experts said.

Near miss: A Eurofighter like this flew just 240ft past a private jet



The incident near Louth, Lincs, was classed as an ‘A’ by the Civil Aviation Authority’s Airprox Board — meaning there was a ‘definite risk of collision’.

In the report released yesterday, one air traffic controller was recorded to have said afterwards: ‘That Typhoon just nearly took out my traffic.’

Another added: ‘I looked up and they were **** close.’

The investigation discovered the Hawker Siddeley’s collision-avoidance device detected the Typhoon — but the fighter was going so fast that emergency action by the civilian pilot made no difference.

The near-tragedy inside the Donna Nook military air training zone also raised questions about civilian pilots being allowed to cross such areas.

The Hawker Siddeley had been cleared to fly over the range at 10,000ft because controllers thought the Eurofighter would be much lower. The incident happened at 8,000ft.

The report said: ‘It is worrying that Donna Nook routinely allows civilian aircraft to transit an active range when high-performance aircraft are using the airspace.’

The Typhoon crew had been warned about the Hawker Siddeley, but had not ‘fully complied’ with orders.

Air traffic expert Philip Butterworth-Hayes told The Sun: ‘It brings into question the “flexible” use of airspace where the military is having to give up more and more because of the number of aircraft in the skies.

‘This was less than a whisker, more the blink of an eye.’

It has not been not disclosed how many people were on the Hawker Siddeley during the near-miss in March.

The 232 Eurofighter Typhoon is the RAF’s newest attack jet, replacing ageing Jaguars and Harriers.