Three aircraft nearly crash over Cambridgeshire skies

A pilot involved in the near-crash was praised for their ‘proactive airmanship’

Three aircraft nearly collided over Cambridgeshire skies last year, a report has revealed. Airprox has carried out a report into the incident which happened over the south of Cambridge Airport on September 5, 2025.

On this day, the pilot of an Antare, a type of glider, was flying north of Cambridge. As it was going on its route, the pilot said they “preferred not to route through Cambridge”, as “incoming traffic was intended to route through the overhead”.

Instead, the pilot decided to fly on the southern edge of the Cambridge zone until they could go directly to their destination. While flying straight and level, there was a “late sighting of two low-wing single-engine aircraft in close formation” around 250m to the right of the aircraft, and around 250ft below it.

The pilot described the risk of collision as “medium”. The YAK-18T pilot was leading the two planes seen by the Antares pilot.

The pilot said that during descent, the lead pilot and wingman “both saw a glider to the right and above”. The report stated that the lead pilot was “happy that the rate of descent and forward speed provided sufficient clearance to the orbiting glider”.

After seeing a glider orbiting in the area, the lead pilot admitted it was “somewhat of a surprise”, and assessed the risk of crash as “none”. In its report, Airprox raised concerns over how close together the aircrafts were.

It said: “Despite the significant vertical separation, the lack of barrier effectiveness had resulted in a situation where safety had not been assured.” The Antares pilot was praised for their “proactive use” of an SSR responder and their “establishing a FIS whilst transiting in the vicinity of Cambridge Airport”.

Airprox added that the pilot’s actions stood as a “template of consideration and proactive airmanship for the gliding community”.