Planes came within 17 seconds of mid-air crash

TWO planes carrying 355 people came within 17 seconds of hitting each other in mid-air over the south-east coast last year despite at least four warnings to the air traffic controller of an impending disaster.

The planes travelling to Dublin from Faro and to Cork from Stansted on September 23, 2007, only avoided collision because warnings from the onboard Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance Systems (TCAS) on both planes told the pilots to take evasive action.

A report from the Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) found the Ryanair and Flightline planes came within three nautical miles and 600 feet of each other.