Ryanair Denies Near-Miss Incident with Israeli Air Force
Joe Cortez March 03, 2016
Conflicting reports suggest Ryanair aircraft may have used evasive maneuvers to avoid fighter jets.
Reports by Israeli media claim a Ryanair flight had to utilize evasive maneuvers to avoid colliding with two Israeli Air Force F-16 fighter jets, while the airline claims the alleged incident never happened. In a report detailed by the Times of Israel , the Ryanair flight supposedly experienced the near-miss outside of Ovda Airport (VDA) in the southern part of the nation, and “the Israel Air Force planes came ‘dangerously close’ to the Ryanair passenger plane.”
According the multiple media reports, the incident took place on March 1 at 27,000 feet, while all aircraft were over the desert. The Ryanair aircraft was preparing to land at VDA after flying in from Krakow when they came across the four F-16 aircraft participating in a military exercise. According to the reports, two of the fighter jets flew into the path of the Ryanair flight, allegedly forcing the aircraft to make “evasive maneuvers.”
However, the airline claims the local media reports are not true. In a statement to the Times of Israel, the airline claims the military aircraft were miles away when the pilots noticed them.
“The crew notified local ATC and the military aircraft descended away from the Ryanair jet, which continued on to [VDA] and landed without incident,” the statement read, as published by the Israeli newspaper. “These military aircraft were at all times over three miles away from the Ryanair aircraft, so the reports of a ‘nearly crash’ or ‘evasive manoeuvres’ are all false and invented.”
All sources reported there were no injuries to the 162 passengers aboard the Ryanair flight. The Irish airline confirmed this in their statement, noting the passengers “…noticed nothing, since our aircraft never diverted from its cleared flight path.” Both the Israeli Air Force and Transportation Ministry are investigating the claims of the incident.
[Photo: Israeli and foreign fighter jets fly in formation via Israeli Air Force]
At three miles distance and on a "head-to-head" trajectory, it would take roughly 9 seconds to collide, assuming the Ryanair aircraft flew at a typical speed of 600 miles/hr and assuming that the fighters speed was roughly the same. Normally, those fighters fly close to the speed of sound, which means even less time to react. Although it may not have been an evasive manoeuvre in the technical sense, I do consider this as a major incident. What the * were those fighters doing in that corridor?