Airliner narrowly misses gliders on approach to Luton

Air traffic controllers were left shaken after the pilot of an approaching airliner said they had narrowly missed four gliders - one of which was clocked flying at 5,000ft.

The incident happened on 27 April close to Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, as the Airbus A321 came in to land at Luton Airport.

According to a report by UK Airprox Board the "gliders appeared to be operating in, or very close to, controlled airspace at the same level as their aircraft".

The controllers "looked at one another in disbelief" when the pilot confirmed that one of the gliders was at the same height in the air, or "500ft higher than the delegated operating altitude".

The report said the air traffic controllers "could not believe what [the pilot] had just said, and it took them a while to process".

The controllers said they had had safety concerns for years concerning how gliders operated from Dunstable Downs without radios or transponders, often relying on the pilots of incoming airlines physically seeing them.

They told investigators that "something needs to be done to aid the safe integration of gliding traffic if they are to operate so close to a busy London airport".

The London Gliding Club, which operates from Dunstable Downs, said the aircraft seen by the reporting pilot was almost certainly a Schleicher ASK21 training glider.

It said it was not infringing controlled airspace and there was no risk of collision.

Investigators concluded that, although the airline pilot "had been concerned by their perceived proximity of the ASK21", they were "satisfied that normal safety margins had pertained" and "determined that there had not been a risk of collision".

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