NickN
28th May 2008, 02:33 PM
From Todays Daily Telegraph....
AN airline pilot has told air-traffic controllers he was startled to see what looked like a model rocket with a flaming tail shoot past his cockpit window shortly after takeoff.
"We don't know for sure what the object was. But we think it might be somebody doing model rocketing," FAA spokesman Roland Herwig said. "The pilot saw the rocket and some people saw the rocket's trail."
The FAA, which is investigating the incident with the FBI, said it is unclear how close the rocket came to the plane on Tuesday, Mr Herwig said.
The pilot spotted the object flying at 1,520 metres shortly after taking off from George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. Flight 1544 continued its trip from Houston to Cleveland after reporting the object to air traffic controllers.
Scott Wilson, a spokesman for the FBI's Cleveland office, said that the plane was not in danger and landed safely.
Continental Airlines spokeswoman Kelly Cripe declined to discuss what crew members had seen aboard the Boeing 737, which carried 148 passengers. The plane did not change course and was not damaged, she said.
FBI spokeswoman Shauna Dunlap said that the bureau routinely looks into any suspicious activity involving a plane.
Robert Morehead, an engineer and president of the Amateur Spaceflight Association in Houston, said model rockets routinely reach as high as 12,000 metres. He said model rocket users are supposed to notify the FAA if a rocket is entering controlled airspace.
Mr Moorehead said the only danger a model rocket could pose to a plane would be if it was sucked into the plane's engine.
"But their engines are designed to ingest birds and not come apart," he said. "The real questions is if the rocket would tear up the engine instead of just shutting it off."
AN airline pilot has told air-traffic controllers he was startled to see what looked like a model rocket with a flaming tail shoot past his cockpit window shortly after takeoff.
"We don't know for sure what the object was. But we think it might be somebody doing model rocketing," FAA spokesman Roland Herwig said. "The pilot saw the rocket and some people saw the rocket's trail."
The FAA, which is investigating the incident with the FBI, said it is unclear how close the rocket came to the plane on Tuesday, Mr Herwig said.
The pilot spotted the object flying at 1,520 metres shortly after taking off from George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. Flight 1544 continued its trip from Houston to Cleveland after reporting the object to air traffic controllers.
Scott Wilson, a spokesman for the FBI's Cleveland office, said that the plane was not in danger and landed safely.
Continental Airlines spokeswoman Kelly Cripe declined to discuss what crew members had seen aboard the Boeing 737, which carried 148 passengers. The plane did not change course and was not damaged, she said.
FBI spokeswoman Shauna Dunlap said that the bureau routinely looks into any suspicious activity involving a plane.
Robert Morehead, an engineer and president of the Amateur Spaceflight Association in Houston, said model rockets routinely reach as high as 12,000 metres. He said model rocket users are supposed to notify the FAA if a rocket is entering controlled airspace.
Mr Moorehead said the only danger a model rocket could pose to a plane would be if it was sucked into the plane's engine.
"But their engines are designed to ingest birds and not come apart," he said. "The real questions is if the rocket would tear up the engine instead of just shutting it off."