A pilot was left “chuckling” in his cockpit after almost hitting five balloons at 7,000ft, a report has revealed.
The purple balloons, which were tied together, “passed just under the right wing” of the Boeing 737 jet which is believed to have been a Jet2 flight from Ibiza to Newcastle.
The close call happened as the plane carrying up to 189 passengers was flying at 200mph just north of Chester-le-Street, County Durham, on its descent on August 28 this year.
A report by the UK Airprox Board which investigates near misses rated it at as a Category A incident where there was a serious risk of collision.
It said that the pilot reported the incident to air traffic controllers, transmitting “just a report of a near miss with about 5 or 6 balloons, they just nearly hit us (chuckling)”.
The report said the incident “was acknowledged and as no other aircraft were in the vicinity no further action was taken”.
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Flight tracker records identified the plane involved as the Jet2 flight.
The airline has been approached for comment.
In a separate incident, an airliner carrying up to 156 passengers came close to hitting a child’s large helium balloon as it came in to land at Manchester airport.
The easyJet pilots spotted the balloon soaring into the air in front of them when they were flying at around 200mph and just seconds from touching down.
The UKAB report said the pilots of the A319 jet initially thought the object was a drone until they got closer and realised it was a helium balloon.
The pilots thought there was “a potential of damage” to an engine of their jet if they abandoned their landing with only seconds to go.
An easyJet spokesperson said: “We are aware of the issue and reported the event to the relevant authorities and supported the investigation in line with our safety procedures.
“At no point was the safety of those onboard compromised. The safety and wellbeing of passengers and crew is always easyJet’s highest priority.”
It is highly unlikely balloons could take down a passenger jet but they could certainly cause problems.
In 1993 a bundle of helium balloons were believed to have played a role in the crash of a small twin engine plane in California in which the pilot lost his life.
Aviation investigators discovered pieces of balloons scattered near the crash site and concluded they may have been flying too low.
