Business jet pilot 'took action to avoid crash'

THE pilot of a business jet had to take avoiding action to prevent a potential mid-air collision with a Heathrow-bound airliner with 232 passengers aboard, an accident report revealed today.

By The Newsroom

Published 8th Sep 2010, 17:24 BST

Updated 8th Sep 2010, 19:03 BST

The German-owned Citation 525 jet passed only just over half a mile away and 100ft to 200ft below the Turkish Airlines’ Boeing 777 plane in the skies over London, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) report said.

The Citation had been cleared by the control tower at London City Airport to climb, initially to 3,000ft.

But acknowledging the instruction, the crew said it would be climbing to 4,000ft – a “readback” mistake not noticed by the tower controller.

The Boeing 777 had been cleared to descend to 4,000ft and it was at this height that it passed the Citation.

The AAIB report, which described the events of July 27 as a “serious incident”, said the 777 had not “followed the commands” from three on-board collision-avoidance warnings.