Chinook helicopter in near-miss collision over Harrogate

A military helicopter was involved in a near-miss collision with a model airplane over Harrogate.

The UK Airprox Board, which investigates the risk of aircraft collisions, has published a report into the incident, which happened on April 17 this year.

It involved a model aircraft flying directly towards a Chinook helicopter as it prepared to land.

The report said the pilot, who was 150ft above ground level, saw the model aircraft come into “close proximity”.

It said:

“A crewman spotted the model aircraft as it flew directly towards the [Chinook] from the nine o’clock position. As the model aircraft approached, it dived below the [Chinook] either by the force of the downwash or under the control of the remote operator.

“It was the flash of the change in the wing profile that made the aircraft visible as the wing cross-section increased.”

It added:

“Once on the ground at Harrogate, the crew discussed the event and elected to continue with the sortie as it was a model aircraft and had not interfered with the [Chinook]. 

“The model was described as a green/brown replica historic model aircraft without lights.

“The UK Airprox Board secretariat contacted the local scale-model flying club but efforts to trace the pilot were unsuccessful.”

Despite the crew reporting that the risk of crash was low, the board certified the incident as a B risk rating – the second highest rating.

Seven of 18 monthly incidents were given a B risk by Airprox — all the others were rated lower risk.

The board resolved that safety had been “much reduced” during the incident and had “not been assured”.

It added:

“The board considered that the pilot’s overall account of the incident portrayed a situation where safety had been much reduced below the norm to the extent that safety had not been assured.”

Read more: