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Als je dit hier in Nederland flikt krijg je zeker een flinke boete. Je moet op een veilige afstand van vliegvelden blijven en dat is hier bepaald niet het geval. Hij vloog in de aanvliegroute naar de landingsbaan.
@Robke, Son? Of is er een club die nog dichter bij een vliegveld zit?Witnesses sought to near-miss between model plane and passenger jet
22nd April 2009, 11:30 WST
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority hopes two onlookers who saw a near miss between a remote controlled airplane and a passenger jet at Perth Airport on Friday will be able to provide assistance in their investigations.
WA Police handed the probe to CASA yesterday and spokesman Peter Gibson today said the authority was sorting through evidence but it was impossible to predict when investigations would be complete.
“It could be next week, the week after or in two months time,” he said.
He said information from two onlookers who were in a nearby park at the time of the incident was important.
However, with the incident filmed and placed on popular social networking site Facebook Mr Gibson said there were other avenues to explore.
“Obviously we have also got the video,” he said.
“And a name on that model plane, which you can see on the video, which may or may be linked (to the offender).”
The pilot of the remote controlled plane could face up to two years in jail over the prank.
The remote controlled airplane appears to have been deliberately flown at a Virgin Blue jet as it came in to land at the Perth Airport.
It is understood the model plane came within seconds of colliding with the 160-seat 737 aircraft and crashed to the ground after being hit by the jet wash.
Mr Gibson said the authority had never come across an incident of this kind before.
“People who operate model aircraft are usually members of clubs,” he said.
“They understand the rules required of operation and have common sense not to operate a model aircraft near an airport.
“Of course there is nothing stopping you as an individual buying a model aircraft and attempting to fly it.”
The man believed responsible for the near disaster took the video off YouTube at the weekend but not before it was recorded and saved by fellow model aircraft enthusiasts furious at the reckless stunt.
The video comes with music from the movie Top Gun and, with dialogue, recreates a scene from the film where “Maverick and Goose” acquire a target and try to get in a shot before crashing after encountering jet wash.
Enthusiasts from Australia and New Zealand have tracked down the man they believe responsible for the stunt and have given his details and the video to WA Police.
The video camera fitted to the model plane shows the Virgin Blue jet streaking past only 30m away. The model aircraft turns to follow the jet towards Perth airport but spirals downwards.
The offender then uses another camera to zoom in on the cockpit of the wrecked model plane.
While the model plane is small, at 88cm long with a wingspan of 1m and weighing 850g, it is fitted with a hardsteel case motor that is 4.8cm wide and weighs 60g.
If the model plane had been sucked into the jet’s engines, it could have caused severe damage and possibly engine failure. If it had struck the cockpit, it could have cracked the jet’s windshield.
A witness told police last Friday that he thought the model aircraft had collided with the 737.
The incident, which happened at 8am about 800m from the runway where the jet was landing after flying from Melbourne, was reported to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
Virgin Blue was contacted by police over the incident but an inspection of the aircraft did not find any damage.
Virgin Blue’s head of safety is investigating the incident.
Flying a model aircraft within 5.5km of an airport and at any distance on an approach path is a Federal offence.