British holiday plane 'came within 1000ft' of missile over Sharm el-Sheikh

A British passenger plane carrying 189 holidaymakers had a near-miss with a military missile as it came into land at Sharm el-Sheikh airport two months ago.

The Thomson holiday plane was carrying UK tourists from Stansted and came within 1,000ft of the rocket back on 23 August.

See also: Thousands of Brits stranded in Sharm as UK pulls flights

See also: Emergency flights to bring home Brits from Sharm

The Mirror reports that a source said the pilot took evasive action:"The first officer was in charge at the time but the pilot was in the cockpit and saw the rocket coming towards the plane.

"He ordered that the flight turn to the left to avoid the rocket, which was about 1,000ft away."

Speaking to Sky News, a Thomson spokesman said: "Thomson Airways can confirm that an event was reported by the crew of flight TOM 476 on 23 August 2015.

"Upon landing into Sharm el-Sheikh, an initial assessment was conducted and the event was immediately reported to the UK Department for Transport (DfT) in line with established protocol.

"The DfT conducted a full investigation in conjunction with other UK government experts. After reviewing the details of the case, the investigation concluded that there was no cause for concern and it was safe to continue our flying programme to Sharm el Sheikh."

A UK government spokesperson told ITV News: "We investigated the reported incident at the time and concluded that it was not a targeted attack and was likely to be connected to routine exercises being conducted by the Egyptian military in the area at the time."

The news comes just days after a Russian jet exploded in midair after taking off from Sharm airport, killing all 224 people on board.

It is believed highly likely a bomb was smuggled on board by a terror group.

Many British tourists are still stranded in Sharm, waiting for emergency flights to bring them home.

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