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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Benedict Tetzlaff-Deas

Terror in skies above Jeremy Clarkson's Diddly Squat farm as planes narrowly avoid crash

Two planes narrowly avoided crashing into each other in the skies near Jeremy Clarkson's Diddly Squat Farm, a new report has revealed.

The pair of light aircraft came within 100ft of each other while manoeuvring 3,000ft above the eastern edge of the former Top Gear star's Oxfordshire site, where two seasons of his Amazon Prime show Clarkson's Farm were filmed.

One of the pilots told the UK Airprox Board that he believed the person flying the other plane "was looking to manoeuvre over a noteworthy property" when the incident occurred.

A report released on March 17 following the incident on August 4 last year heard how one pilot said he was flying a single-engined DA40 Diamond Star aeroplane towards Chipping Norton, when he spotted a twin-engined DA42 Diamond Twin Star make a "hard, steep left turn, turning straight for them".

After seeing the twin-engine plane heading straight towards them, they said they quickly descended and turned right, passing underneath the other plane about 800 yards east of Clarkson's farm.

However, the pilot of the twin-engine aircraft claimed he was carrying out a test on a commercial pilot licence student, and was unaware they had come so close to another aircraft.

Radar data later revealed just how close the near miss was, with the two planes separated by only 100 feet vertically and about 300 yards horizontally at their closest point.

The single-engine pilot said they quickly descended and turned right, passing underneath the other plane around 800 yards east of Clarkson's farm (Getty Images)

Horizontal separation between aircraft should be kept at a minimum of five miles when not approaching airports, according to the UK Civil Aviation Authority.

Issuing its findings on the incident, UK Airprox Board concluded that "safety had been degraded" but that there had been "no risk of collision" as air traffic control recordings revealed the pilots were visual with each other and able to manoeuvre away from each other sufficiently as a result.

Jeremy Clarkson has previously complained about light aircraft flying over his farm on his Amazon TV show (PA)

In the latest series of his farming show, Jeremy Clarkson joked about setting up "a surface-to-air missile battery" on his land because of the number of light aircraft passing overhead.

He said: "They're here all the time.

"I think if I shoot one down it won't stop them, they'll just think it was an accident.

"But if I do two or three, word will get out in the flying community and they'll have to spend time with their wives."

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