F-15 US fighter jet was nearly taken out by a BALLOON at 21,000ft in British airspace, report reveals
- An F-15 pilot had to ‘aggressively’ swing away from a balloon in British airspace
- The fighter jet encountered a ‘large balloon’ while nearly 4 miles above ground
- A recent report by the UK Airpox Board said that risk of collision had been ‘high’
A US fighter jet was nearly taken out by a balloon while in UK airspace, a report reveals.
The F-15 pilot had to ‘aggressively’ swing left to avoid the ‘large balloon’ which they spotted about 50ft away, while nearly four miles above ground.
The aviator reported the risk of collision had been ‘high’, according to the UK Airprox Board, which works to enhance air safety in Britain.
An F-15 (pictured in a stock photo) twin-engine, all-weather tactical US fighter jet was nearly taken out by a balloon while in UK airspace, a report reveals
The report on the incident, which happened off the coast of East Riding of Yorkshire on November 5 last year, states: ‘The F15 pilot reports that they saw a large balloon bloom in the Head Up Display at 21,000ft.
‘They aggressively banked to the left to avoid. They then made a call on the radio to avoid the location of the balloon.
‘In the Board’s opinion the reported altitude or description of the object were sufficient to indicate that it was probably a balloon.’
The twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter jet has a wingspan of 42.8ft, is 63.8ft long and weighs 31,700 pounds, according to the US Air Force website.
The F-15 Eagle, which can reach speeds of 1,875 mph, is also a favourite across fiction.
A number of characters in the famous Transformer toy line can turn into the jet, and the F-15 features in the 1997 Harrison Ford flick, Air Force One.
The report added: ‘The Board considered that the pilot’s overall account of the incident portrayed a situation where safety had been much reduced below the norm to the extent that safety had not been assured.’
The F-15, pictured in a stock photo, which can reach speeds of 1,875 mph, is a favourite across fiction
UK Airprox Board gave the incident a risk rating of ‘B’; its second most serious rating on a scale from A-E.
MailOnline has reached out to the Civil Aviation Authority for more information on the incident.
The US Airforce website says: ‘The F-15 Eagle is an all-weather, extremely manoeuvrable, tactical fighter designed to permit the Air Force to gain and maintain air supremacy over the battlefield.’
Last week, it was reported that two F-15s from RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk were forced to make emergency landings at the base, the US Air Force confirmed.
Both planes were reportedly flying over Norfolk when they suffered hydraulic issues.
A US Air Force spokesman said ‘hydraulic issues’ caused the emergency landings and that ‘both aircraft landed safely with aircrew on board unharmed’.