Heart-stopping moment for a gasping crowd at Wentworth as they watch two planes on 'collision course' on approach to Heathrow - But Air Traffic Control say it was perfectly safe公仔箱論壇/ y: b9 S' t U q
By Eddie Wrenn+ [ i+ f5 R d
% r0 p; k, b) F% r& ]At first, everyone was rooted to the golf.
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* O7 V1 y9 c. l. }) a4 @" f: TBut then a murmur went around the crowd at Wentworth golf course, which is under Heathrow's flight path and the scene of the 2012 BMW PGA Championships, and attention turned away from the game and towards a drama unfolding in the skies above." Y4 O0 X K; ?& d* P8 x! r
3 n- A% p B9 {- }: LTwo planes were flying overhead - and they seemed to be on a fatal collision course.' Q1 v- l; s9 H( z5 u( W
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A gasp went round the stands as the hundreds of spectators watched the larger plane catch up with the smaller one, and the observers took a collective breath as they watched the seemingly inevitable events unfold.
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4 u" n @6 x q8 F8 M/ JBut the only victims here were the golf spectators, who by chance happened to be perfectly placed for a unique optical illusion.5.39.217.76$ ]7 ?- K5 ~0 J0 k% W
TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。# Q% f" J4 Q0 B4 X; S, S# G
@0 p$ v" v# C7 B# G$ R/ G; _公仔箱論壇Those planes look close: As the Wentworth golf spectators look up, tension begins to mount as the 'larger' plane begins to catch up with the smaller one
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3 P2 P2 ?- k' Q+ o+ g4 J) j, y& ?2 PTVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。
/ F8 G- C$ [- N公仔箱論壇As the planes came together, the crowd diverted their attention and watched nervously for catastrophe
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+ s2 G+ c/ P0 p8 kTVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。
3 j; y2 _% {9 n5.39.217.76There were gasps from the galleries as the planes approached each other and a crash seemed imminent公仔箱論壇" v I, T( X. S- V& V% j/ K
! j H9 O7 T7 }6 j ~5.39.217.76
3 b5 ^; B/ Z9 e0 v+ x8 ~2 CTVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。Moment of 'impact': As the crowd squeezed their collective eyes shut, the planes hit - and the illusion is broken5.39.217.766 U* x# A# y1 U
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...And the planes separate, perfectly safe all along, and the crowds realise they had been fooled by an optical illusion - and the golf can continue5.39.217.765 D8 R& N/ u$ w" H* U8 r$ A8 |
7 }" e( ~% \5 wtvb now,tvbnow,bttvbSuddenly, the planes merged - and the penny dropped. For what the crowd was taking part in was a unique mass-optical illusion.
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1 f: N* M( F6 U+ f4 oThe planes - despite seeming to touch for the ground-based observers - were in fact thousands of feet apart, taking part in a process named as 'stacking' as they waited in line to descend into Heathrow.
4 K; ?" Y/ f, U: k" W7 r* `$ gtvb now,tvbnow,bttvbThe London airport is one of the world's busiest, with more than 1,300 flights arriving or leaving each day, and air traffic controllers organise the planes into the stacking procedure.& t7 m# N; G, X* l9 [8 o V' O& |9 S0 y
TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。* t$ P5 y/ W5 R, p4 }
Naturally, the 'bigger plane' is much closer to the camera, and likely to be a mile or two away from the the 'smaller' plane up above.
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! {: M3 g1 w; v6 m" _: \5.39.217.76A spokesman for the Air Traffic Control at Heathrow said: 'We do hear reports of these from time to time - especially in the summer when it is a perfectly clear day and there are no visual reference points, making it appear that two planes are close.
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1 M q& X7 A, R1 y7 A5 rtvb now,tvbnow,bttvb'However at all times, planes are are kept five horizontal miles apart and a least 1,000 feet vertically, and this is monitored by both pilots and radar, so even when it looks like the planes are close, there is no danger.'. X4 [7 ~( k! q+ ~1 G' Y
% U$ ^6 |: k8 o. B; G. G% h/ DTVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。So this can be a common enough optical illusion if you live under a flight-path.) q! k3 t. x5 F4 m7 O2 ~
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But for a group of spectators on a sunny Saturday, it was a heart-stopping few seconds which they are sure to never forget.TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。' f3 t! y0 X- q& _6 |' w
TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。, ]: A9 ~9 J- b# Y) w& _# l& i: |
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Stacking explained: Planes join a queue, always at least 1,000 feet apart vertically-wise and with a five-mile gap horizontally, when waiting for a runwayTVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。! T0 C0 @8 n1 i
公仔箱論壇1 ]$ v- d5 I- }) c
# e- r; Q3 l N0 Htvb now,tvbnow,bttvbPerfectly placed: The crowd were in prime position for the action - unfurling at both ground level and in the skies above |
發表於 2012-5-30 04:39 AM
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發表於 2012-5-30 01:45 PM
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