A SERBIAN LEARJET succeeded in crossing NATO airspace from Belgrade to Belgium without clearance and landed at London Heathrow after two Belgian air force Lockheed F-16A Fighting Falcons scrambled by NATO air defence failed to intercept the aircraft.
The incident happened on 28 October. The two F-16s were ordered into the air by the NATO air-defence command station at Kalkar, Germany, at 22.25 local time, to investigate an unidentified aircraft which did not have a clearance to traverse NATO airspace.
Two F-16As of 2 Wing were scrambled within minutes and climbed to 36,000ft (11,000m), guided by the Belgian military radar and control centre at Glons, LiŠge. The F-16s achieved radar contact with the trespassing aircraft, but did not achieve the visual contact necessary to identify it.
The Learjet, which was being flown to Gatwick, was eventually diverted by the London Air Traffic Control Centre to Heathrow. The incident has left NATO puzzled as to how the aircraft could penetrate so deep into its airspace without being detected and identified.
The Belgian air force says that, at the time of the interception, it knew that the aircraft being chased was a Serb Learjet which was following a flight plan from Belgrade to London. The air force had been asked to check visually to identify the aircraft and divert it to a military airfield.
Source: Flight International
