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 safetvb now,tvbnow,bttvb( T0 K: o# @) ~6 s
By Eddie WrennTVBNOW 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。) d6 l( M3 P9 L+ f6 T/ W3 A
5 N5 j$ O9 a+ N; P" ZAt first, everyone was rooted to the golf.
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3 T ^( r% |! l8 wtvb now,tvbnow,bttvbBut 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.5.39.217.766 e8 Z6 p, G+ d8 C% G" N; d
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Two planes were flying overhead - and they seemed to be on a fatal collision course.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb- H* Y/ @4 w8 Q" {, w3 A
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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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0 o! Q2 V# z. o1 RBut the only victims here were the golf spectators, who by chance happened to be perfectly placed for a unique optical illusion.
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9 f- |7 _: s$ ]4 P, o- x# Atvb now,tvbnow,bttvbThose 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) {4 `$ Q f: u
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$ M) N+ } M) Y: u5 j7 y/ d# `tvb now,tvbnow,bttvbAs the planes came together, the crowd diverted their attention and watched nervously for catastrophetvb now,tvbnow,bttvb1 J7 b. t( [$ _
, n. G" |; r$ `( N. w7 y# ZTVBNOW 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。
8 r: _2 B! O$ h5 {There were gasps from the galleries as the planes approached each other and a crash seemed imminent, }2 T; o7 H: |2 p- k" m0 d; L
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Moment of 'impact': As the crowd squeezed their collective eyes shut, the planes hit - and the illusion is broken公仔箱論壇6 s7 B( q5 S+ j* R* P; R7 S! R
公仔箱論壇( Y. n$ E9 R* k. y$ H- x. y0 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。) l+ ^$ [0 P4 B' J; E/ ?( c, t. t8 u
...And the planes separate, perfectly safe all along, and the crowds realise they had been fooled by an optical illusion - and the golf can continue
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1 P6 ^" z# u# v公仔箱論壇Suddenly, 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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, q% q) D8 O: R& `9 ^' d' |公仔箱論壇The 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.5.39.217.76( f5 ?0 t# H# \: z! U
The 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.6 ]1 S$ b" q4 M3 N- z# y. v
% {3 P9 }1 t9 @tvb now,tvbnow,bttvbNaturally, 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.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb+ g% n% y( r. G1 ]5 ^+ _& p
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A 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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'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.'
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So this can be a common enough optical illusion if you live under a flight-path.
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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.公仔箱論壇) X/ T8 |% N6 a* V n
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4 M$ _5 W5 `' MStacking 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 runway
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5 H) B% m1 U3 i1 P) lTVBNOW 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。
' w7 G" h" A2 h7 q4 R0 ]" z1 ntvb 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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