A PILOT of a huge plane nearly crashed over Oxfordshire after spotting unexpected ‘intruder’.

Pilots from a huge plane reported a ‘high risk’ near crash over Oxfordshire after their alarm system was triggered by a small aircraft.

A grey Voyager aircraft, which is an RAF air-to-air refuelling tanker that also acts as air transport, was alarmed after spotting an unexpected aircraft when taking off from Brize Norton RAF base on November 9 last year.

The Voyager pilot reported that their collision warning system was triggered by an ‘intruder’ – another aircraft, a Bulldog – travelling near them.

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Diagram shows how close two planes were together, with flight paths nearly crossing.

The Bulldog, which is a small two-seat aircraft, was spotted by the Voyager’s safety pilot as the plane began to enter a cloud slightly to the northwest.

There was no way to move out of the way if the flight paths were to converge, leading the pilots on board to fear a crash.

The Bulldog passed the plane 200m away.

Meanwhile, in the control room, the Brize Norton zone controller approved the Bulldog’s crossing from Faringdon to Burford and made the necessary calls.

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