2 NM southwest of Blackpool Airport, Lancashire, United Kingdom
Five Feet From a Hawk Canopy: UK Airprox 2026008 Over Lancashire
At 15:41 UTC on 29 January 2026, a RAF Hawk T2 climbing after a practice diversion to Warton passed an unidentified flat solid object at extremely close range. The front-seat pilot called 'Tally', rolled right, and both crew reacted. UKAB records estimated separation of about 5 ft vertically/5 m hor
Why This Case Matters
A particularly well-documented close airborne-object event: two military crew, immediate ATC report, precise timeline, HUD recording reviewed after flight and a formal UK Airprox Board safety finding.
Chronology
- 29 Jan 15:41:26 pilot calls Tally
- 15:41:27 avoidance roll right
- 15:41:28 object passes left side
- 15:41:29 both crew react
- 15:41:32 pilot reports apparent drone/balloon
- 15:41:48 Warton reports nothing on radar
- post-flight HUD review
- UKAB assesses Risk B
The Witnesses
Evidence
The following evidence types are documented for this case:
Conventional explanations: Drone or balloon was the pilot's immediate ordinary hypothesis; small airborne debris is possible. At the quoted 0.25 m size and split-second encounter, shape/range estimates are inherently difficult.
What Remains Unresolved
- Public availability of HUD frames/video
- weather/balloon releases
- any recovered object or drone reports
- exact sensor characteristics
- whether additional military data exist.
Key Takeaways
- This is high-quality documentation of a genuinely unidentified near-miss, not evidence of exotic technology. Its strength comes from the official chronology and independent cockpit/ATC trail.
Sources
Primary and secondary sources for this case file: