RAF Tornado near miss 12.01.11

An investigation has found that two RAF Tornados were just seconds from colliding over the Scottish Borders. The incident happened in September near Galashiels when the jets were engaged in low-level training. According to a report from the Civil Aviation Authority the Tornadoes came within 150 feet of each other, while travelling at 500 miles per hour and have classed the incident as a category A-one step down from a mid-air collision.

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Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• British
• Forces
• News
• RAF
• Tornado
• Scottish
• Borders
• Galashiels
• Civil
• Aviation
• Authority

[TheStoner60]

I think the Tornado looks like a very sturdy plane.Engineering at at its best.

[baxio3rod]

Having been trained as an RAF Fast Jet pilot in the 70s flying Hawker Hunters, I can appreciate the problems encountered by my successors in today's crowded and shrinking training airspace. Low-level flying is still the most demanding part of a military pilot's job and, arguably, the most important. TCAS is all very well for avoiding the collisions in normal circumstances and with slower moving civilian aircraft but, in a head-on with 1,000 knots closing speed it takes quick reactions to dodge.

[moosedecumanus]

Why can you not like it? nobody died.:)

[alphaprawns]

@baxio3rod Yup, frankly it's amazing they can do stuff like this at all. So if you were training in the 70s, that would have been you guys gearing up for a potential fight against the Russians right?

[revolutions88]

What a way too go

[eatthisvr6]

@iameskay they arnt fighters

[graingermouse]

@IronHarper

but the red arrows expect to be that close to each other, im guessing they travelled much further than 150ft in the time it took the pilots brains to realise they were that close

[IronHarper]

Considering red arrows can be feet apart I reckon 150 feet is a fair bit :P

[nvstewart]

@Factnotfictionpeople Did you know they do low flying exercises for a reason? To fly below the radar? Ever heard of that? Sure enough they have their own radar systems, but they dont have to turn them on. Maybe they were flying a combat sortie, which you normally turn off the radar for that to lower the radar signature of the aircraft.

[nvstewart]

@jagara1 Its called TCAS (Traffic Collision Avoidance System) BTW, being British has nothing to do with it. These are OLD aircraft, probably older than you. Not every civilian aircraft have TCAS even. So dont try and blame it on the British. It was clearly stated that one aircraft was in the area 7 minutes earlier than it should of been. It is pilot error, not aircraft error.

[alanmichaellincoln]

Doesn't look very near to me! Not sure that's Scotland down there!