F-15 fighter jets in 'near-miss' with glider

Two F-15s avoided a collision with a glider between Thetford and Lakenheath

Two fighter jets flew just 100ft (30m) above a glider taking part in a contest, a report has shown.

The military aircraft were travelling in formation to RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk when the lead pilot saw a glider making a turn in front of them.

The F-15 jets levelled off to avoid the Duo Discus but the pilot rated the risk of collision was "high".

The report found safety had been "much reduced".

A Civil Aviation Authority AirProx Board investigating panel said the "emergency" manoeuvre by the F-15s had created the separation between the aircraft during the incident west of Thetford in Norfolk.

While the fighter pilots had been warned of some glider activity in the area they had not been given specific details, the recently published report said.

Since the incident on 14 August the gliding club, which did not have a contact for Lakenheath Air Traffic Control at the time, has agreed to give notice to the aviation authorities when any competitions involve more than 20 aircraft.

The AirProx report said: "The F-15 pilot had reported that he had only seen the glider at the last moment and that the separation had been only 100ft [altitude] and 100m [horizontally] (328ft) as they flew past."

The glider pilot told the panel he had continued in his turning manoeuvre in order to make his aircraft more visible to the F-15s - which he had spotted "miles away".

The panel agreed this may have helped the fighter pilots' visuals.

The report added the glider pilot's assessment of risk of collision as "low" had led some of its panel members "to wonder whether he had a particularly robust approach to the risks of fast-jets flying so close by".