Toy plane, passenger jet in near miss

A Virgin Blue jet had a near miss with a remote controlled plane as it was landing at Perth airport.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority has confirmed they are investigating the incident after video footage from a camera attached the model aircraft was given to authorities, thewest.com.au reports.

The offender, who could face up to two years in jail, uploaded the footage to YouTube before taking it down over the weekend.

But outraged aircraft enthusiasts made copies of the clip and handed them to authorities, along with details of the man they believed responsible for the reckless incident.

The video shows the model plane, which weighs about 850g and has a wing span of 1m, flying around 30m from the Virgin Blue jet before it plummets to the ground.

The clip features music from the Tom Cruise movie Top Gun and includes dialogue from a scene where Cruise and another character unsuccessfully attempt to shoot down an aircraft.

Aviation experts say if the toy plane was sucked into the jet's engines, it could have caused severe damage and engine failure.

If it had struck the cockpit, the windshield could have cracked.

The incident happened about 11am (AEST) on Friday during a flight from Melbourne.

Virgin Blue was contacted over the incident but an inspection of the aircraft revealed no damage.

It is a federal offence to fly a model aircraft within 5.5km of an airport

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

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• A_VIRGIN_Blue_