Bin Laden plane going 'too fast' when it crashed in Surrey

A private jet which crashed, killing three members of Osama bin Laden's family, landed too far down the runway because it was travelling 40% faster than the recommended speed, accident investigators concluded.

The Saudi-registered jet smashed into an earth bank at the end of the runway at Blackbushe Airport, Surrey, on July 31 last year before becoming airborne and colliding with several parked cars.

The occupants survived the impacts but died from the effects of a fire which began after the wing separated from the fuselage, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said.

Its report found that the pilot's ability to adapt and take on new information as he was landing was impeded due to a "very high workload situation".

All three passengers were members of bin Laden's family.

They were his stepmother, Raja Bashir Hashem, 75, her daughter, Sana bin Laden, 53, and another relative, Zouheir Anuar Hashem, 56.

The Jordanian pilot was 58-year-old Mazen Salim Alqasim.

Eyewitnesses filmed the aftermath of the crash on their mobile phones:

The AAIB said the pilot may have been aware of the high speed but believed the landing could be achieved, or he may not have appreciated how fast he was flying, perhaps because he was "fixated on landing".

Investigators found that the pilot's "mental capacity could have become saturated" after being exposed to 66 audio warnings, instructions and messages during the three minutes and 32 seconds before reaching the start of the runway.

The report stated: "It is possible that in these circumstances the pilot ... fixated on his initial strategy - landing - and lacked the mental capacity to recognise that the approach had become unstable and should be discontinued."

No technical defects were discovered with the aircraft, the pilot was not found to have any substances in his body which would have reduced his performance and the weather was good.