Hong Kong air miss investigated

Aviation officials in Hong Kong are investigating an incident in which two Boeing seven-four-seven airliners might have been on a collision course at Chek Lap Kok airport.

The pilot of a Cathay Pacific cargo plane landing on a flight from Taiwan last Sunday saw a Lufthansa passenger plane taking off from the same runway.

He didn't believe the German aircraft would clear the runway in time so he aborted his approach.

A Civil Aviation Department official said the decision to send the aircraft on another approach circuit did not appear to be a traffic control matter. The Lufthansa plane took off without incident. There have been at least two similar incidents at Chek Lap Kok this year.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service