RAF jet nearly hits microlight at 500mph due to map blunder

An RAF fighter pilot travelling at around 500mph nearly hit a microlight that was coming in to land, according to an air safety report.

The Tornado was flying at a low level and travelling at about 483mph on the Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire border near Headon airfield when it passed 300ft beneath the microlight pilot.

In a report by Airprox, investigators also heard that the Tornado was using military maps which had a civilian airfield in the wrong place in Nottinghamshire, by half a mile.

The board of inquiry found the warplane’s pilot was “entitled to fly where he had” but the pilot of the multimillion-pound Tornado failed to spot the smaller aircraft.

The near-miss, which happened on October 2nd last year, only emerged after the microlight pilot flagged the incident to the authorities.

The incident has been classed as a “Category A”, meaning “a serious risk of collision has existed”.