Bin Laden plane crash could have been avoided, claims pilot

The circumstances surrounding the plane crash which killed three members of the Bin Laden family have been called into question by a pilot who regularly uses Blackbushe Airport the scene of the tragedy.

Speaking to Sky News Simon Moores said that the Phenom 300 jet, that came down at a car auction site in Hampshire on Friday (31 July) after a flight from Milan's Malpensa Airport , had "every conceivable" safety function to prevent it from plummeting to the ground.

He told the broadcaster that the Phenom 300 takes an estimated 750 metres to 800m to land safely, which was well within Blackbushe's 1,300m runway capacity.

Moores told Sky News: "Why, if (the pilot) thought his angle was completely wrong didn't he power up the engines, simply go round, and try again?"

The dead have been named as Rajaa Hashim, Sana bin Laden and Zuhair Hashim along with an unnamed Jordanian pilot who also died in the wreckage. No one on the ground was injured.

Hampshire Police said the Bin Laden family members were all Saudi Arabian and were visiting the UK "on vacation", but that formal post-mortem examinations are "ongoing". The authorities are now carrying out a joint investigation with the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).

The Saudi ambassador to the UK, Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf Al Saud, has already offered his condolences to the Bin Laden family.

He said: "His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf Al Saud has paid his condolences to the family and relatives of Mohammed Bin Laden at Blackbushe airport in Britain for the great loss they have suffered as a result of the crash of the plane that was carrying the family."