Tornado Pilot Reported He Did Not See The Helo

The UK Airprox Board reports that an RAF Tornado on a low-level training mission came within about 150 feet of a civilian AS350 helicopter that was hovering at about 400 feet.

The helicopter was reportedly taking pictures of a work site near Loch Garry in Scotland, according to the newspaper The Scotsman. The Airprox board said in its report that the Tornado crew did not see the helicopter, but it was visible in recordings from the military aircraft's FLIR and head-up displays.

The incident was witnessed by a driver on the A9 highway, who told the board he saw the Tornado pass the helicopter at the same altitude, then turn across its flight path. 

According to the report: “The board unanimously agreed that there had been a risk of collision," due to the Tornado crew not seeing the helicopter.

The RAF is reportedly installing collision avoidance equipment into its fleet of Tornados, which the Airprox board says “might reduce the likelihood of a repeat of this type of incident in the near future.”

(AS350, Tornado pictured in file photo)

FMI: www.airproxboard.org.uk