Planes collide at Heathrow airport

Planes collide at Heathrow airport

By Sophie Borland
Last Updated: 12:12am BST 16/10/2007

Two planes collided on the runway at Heathrow airport last night whilst preparing to take-off.

Witnesses reported seeing part of the engine of a British Airways jumbo jet aircraft, Flight BA011, falling onto the runway whist the tip of the wing of an Air Lanka flight had come away. Nobody was thought to be injured in the crash but about 20 fire engines were called to scene.

The BA jet was bound for Singapore when it crashed into the Air Lanka plane which was heading for the Maldives at about 10pm.

The cause of the incident was not known but engineers were called to the scene and were investigating both aircraft.

Passengers were reported to be very shaken and distressed but were being told by their pilots over the intercom that there was no need to panic.

Patrick Spink, spokesman for British Airways said: "The crash happened when the BA011 flight bound for Singapore hit the Air Lanka flight shortly after 10pm.

"We are not yet sure what caused the crash but it is thought that the British Airways jet collided with the wing of the other aircraft causing the tip of it to break away.

"Obviously under the circumstances the safety of passengers is paramount and all those on board both aircraft are being moved to the terminal buildings.

"Engineers have also been called to investigate the scene and a full inquiry will be launched to determine the exact cause of this incident.

"Nobody is thought to have been injured in the crash."

A spokesman for London Fire Brigade said that there was no serious damage to the aircraft and no reports of injuries.

Each year more than 64 million passengers pass through Heathrow airport and there are about 450,000 landings and take-offs.

The incident comes as Heathrow airport faces growing criticism for long delays and chaos caused to passengers.

Last month the airport was found to have the worst delays in Europe with some passangers being forced to wait on the tarmac for up to half an hour.

During one incident the airport's northern runway was blocked for more than 90 minutes after an Royal Brunei flight made an emergency landing

Statistics from the Association of European Airlines showed that more than one flight in three left Heathrow more than 15 minutes late.

The figures showed that Heathrow's performance from April to June was about three per cent worse than the previous quarter, with delays faced by passengers at check-in and security often continuing once they are on board.

The Daily Telegraph have also revealed how the Spanish operators of the airport, BAA, had to pay passengers more than £144,000 to airlines for poor performance.