Disaster Seemed Certain When A Photographer Caught A Near Miss
Disaster seemed certain when a photographer captured these planes on course to collide over east London. To the onlookers below, the aircraft looked set for a horrific mid-air crash.
The cameraman took the pictures of an Airbus A300 belonging to transport firm DHL, which seemed to narrowly avoid flying into the rear of a Japan Airlines Boeing 777.
The photographer was in the crowd attending West Ham's home FA Cup match at Upton Park stadium on Saturday.
But the Civil Aviation Authority says the incident was an optical illusion and not as dangerous as it appeared from below.
A spokesman said: 'It is impossible to tell from the ground how close aircraft are in the air.'
For a mid-air incident to be classed a near miss, the planes must be within three nautical miles horizontally or 1,000ft vertically of each other.
A DHL spokesman said the company took safety 'extremely seriously' and had investigated the claims.
He said: 'In this instance a proper distance between the two planes was maintained at all times.'
Experts say the blue skies and sunshine added to the optical illusion as the conditions distorted the perspective of those watching below.
I know this is an old post, but these photos keep making their rounds.
Here's a good resource on how the optical illusion works that created the
photo:
What you are seening is what is called forced perspective. (See making of
Jame Bond Films) The acutual distance between the two can be can be
calculated by trig and knowing the dimesions of the items in the picture.
the 777 main wing is about 60.9 meters ft across. The Airbus is on 44.84
meters. on my monitor, the first picture shows about equal lengh. Both
airplanes show wheels and flaps up. (4 to 5 thousand feet above ground
minimum and 250kt/h ground speed mim) you can also use the planes
length as a reference. The 777 is really big. its TAIL is only 2ft less
than an 737 main WING! For the A300 to look near the same size, its got to
be a LOT closer to the photographer. (Given the above data is a good math
problem for a trig student.)
is that real? i 'm not sure its real- doaes not
computeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee