Bin Laden jet 'avoided microlight' before crashing

Three members of the bin Laden family were killed after their plane avoided a microlight and then landed too far down a Hampshire runway, air accident investigators have found.

Relatives of al Qaida founder Osama bin Laden were among the four people, including the pilot, who died when a private jet crash-landed at a car auction site in Hampshire last week.

The Saudi-registered Phenom 300 jet, built in 2010, was attempting to land at Blackbushe Airport when it crashed on to dozens of cars and burst into flames.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch said the plane, travelling from Milan, overtook a microlight aircraft after beginning its descent from cruise level.

It then landed two thirds of the way along the runway. This gave it 438 metres to complete the landing when it needed 616 metres, the AAIB said.

After leaving the runway, the plane collided with a one-metre high earth bank - causing part of the landing gear to detach and the plane to become briefly airborne.

It then collided with several parked cars 70 metres beyond the bank where the wings detached from the fuselage and the plane burst into flames. Coroner for North Hampshire, Andrew Bradley, who opened and adjourned the inquest into their deaths, said the bodies were "incinerated".

Mr Bradley confirmed the identities of the three members of bin Laden's family as his stepmother Raja Bashir Hashem, 75; her daughter, Sana bin Laden, 53; and Zouheir Anuar Hashem, 56. The Jordanian pilot was 58-year-old Mazen Salim Alqasim, Mr Bradley said.

Relatives of al Qaida founder Osama bin Laden were among the four people who died when a private jet crash-landed at a car auction site in Hampshire.

The Saudi-registered Phenom 300 jet was attempting to land at Blackbushe Airport when it crashed on to dozens of cars and burst into flames.

Hampshire Police confirmed that all three passengers on board the plane were members of the large and wealthy Bin Laden family, from Saudi Arabia, who were visiting the UK on holiday.

The plane's Jordanian pilot also died in the crash.

Arab media have named the relatives as Osama bin Laden's stepmother Rajaa Hashim, his sister Sana bin Laden and her husband Zuhair Hashim.

A police spokesman said: "We do believe three of the deceased to be the mother, sister and brother-in-law of the owner of the aircraft, all of whom are from the Bin Laden family, but formal post-mortem examinations are ongoing. "They were Saudi Arabian nationals and visiting the UK on vacation."

Investigations continue into a plane crash that killed four people at Blackbushe Airport in Hampshire. It's been revealed the executive jet used the airfield regularly in recent months.

Three members of the Saudi Bin Laden family were killed, along with the pilot. Investigators are trying to find out why the plane overshot the runway and smashed into cars on the car auction site.

Investigations are continuing into the cause of a plane crash at Blackbushe in Hampshire which killed four people. It's believed that relatives of Al Qaida founder Osama Bin Laden were among those aboard. The jet was registered in Saudi Arabia. Richard Jones reports.

Tributes are being paid to the four people who lost their lives in today's air tragedy at Blackbushe airport.

The Air Accident Investigation Branch have confirmed they have sent a team to Blackbushe Airport.

Hampshire police have confirmed that four people, the pilot and three passengers, are dead after a private jet crash-landed into a car auction site at Blackbushe Airport in Hampshire this afternoon.

Blackbushe Airport has confirmed that the plane had crashed while coming in to land. It has also confirmed that it was a Phenom 300 Jet with four people on board.

A spokesman for the Hampshire airport said:

The light aircraft which crashed as it attempted to land at Blackbushe Airport in Hampshire this afternoon was a small jet with four people on board.

Emergency services are working at the scene after a fire broke out in the car auction site next to the runway where the Phenom 300 jet crashed at 3.09pm.

Details of any casualties are not yet known.

The jet was trying to land, shortly after take-off, when it crashed and burst into flames.