Bin Laden plane crash: Jet issued six warning alerts

Aviation enthusiast Geoff Pierce took this photograph of the aircraft moments before it crashed

An initial report into a plane crash that killed three members of Osama Bin Laden's family has revealed the jet's warning system issued six alerts.

The aircraft had also overtaken a microlight before it landed and overshot the runway, the Air Accidents Investigations Branch report stated.

The private jet was attempting to land at Blackbushe Airport, Hampshire on 31 July.

The jet's Jordanian pilot was also killed.

According to eye-witnesses, the jet exploded as it crashed into a car auction site at the airfield

Bin Laden's half-sister, Sana Mohammed Bin Laden, her mother, Raja Bashir Hashim, and his brother-in-law, Zuhair Hashim, died in the crash, along with pilot Mazen Al-Aqeel Da'jah Salem.

Before making the landing descent, the Saudi-registered Phenom 300 private jet had overtaken a microlight, and "climbed slightly to pass ahead of and above that aircraft".

The aircraft had communicated it was "clear of conflict" when it was approaching the runway with the landing gear down, the report stated.

Kevin Byrne, an aviation expert from Coventry University, said the jet then began "a very high-speed descent", dropping at up to 3,000 ft per minute.

He said: "That's well over twice as much as they would normally do so he [the pilot] was in a hurry to get down for whatever reason."

The crash happened on the border between Hampshire and Surrey

In addition, the manufacturer states the plane should land at a speed of about 120mph, or 108 knots, but towards touch down it was doing 150mph.

During the descent, the aircraft's Terrain Avoidance and Warning System (TAWS) issued six "pull up" warnings on final approach.

According to the report, the Blackbushe runway has an available landing distance of 1,059m (3,474 ft).

Tyre marks indicated the plane landed just 349m before the end of the declared landing area and 438m before the end of the paved surface.

Mr Byrne said: "It was going very fast, it was landing very far down the runway, and unfortunately it didn't have enough time or length of runway to stop."

The Bin Laden family severed ties with Osama before disowning him after the 11 September attacks

The plane then crashed into a one-metre high earth bank, causing a section of the nose landing gear and the nose gear doors to detach.

It then briefly became airborne before crashing into vehicles at a British Car Auctions site at the airfield, losing one of its wings and bursting into flames.

The report stated the weather conditions were "fine with light and variable winds".

The plane, which was arriving from Milan, Italy, crashed shortly after 15:00 BST, exploding on impact.

Eyewitnesses at the scene said there had been a "ball of flames" and "several explosions".

In a statement, the Saudi ambassador to the UK, Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf Al Saud, offered condolences to the Bin Laden family.

An inquest into the deaths was opened and adjourned earlier.