Plane and lawnmower cut it close

The Boeing 757 was landing at Dublin Airport

A near-miss between a man on a tractor lawnmower and a Boeing 757 landing at Dublin Airport is being looked into by Irish air investigators.

The plane was carrying 198 passengers and eight crew and was returning from Sharm-el-Sheikh in Egypt last month.

The driver of the sit-on mower did not notice the plane until its wing passed over his head as he cut grass near the runways.

No-one was injured in the incident in the early hours of 29 May.

The Irish Department of Transport's air accident investigation unit found the small ride-on grass mower had been moving along the runway a number of metres inside the edge runway lighting.

"The mower had no rear lighting or flashing beacon and it was not equipped with any airband radio equipment capable of listening out on the control tower frequency," said the report.

"The driver of the mower was unaware that an aircraft was landing and he did not see the aircraft before it passed his vehicle.

"It is probable that the starboard wing of the Boeing 757 passed over the ride-on mower during the landing roll."

Air traffic controllers were not aware the unsuspecting workman was almost in the path of the oncoming jet when they gave the all-clear for landing.

In a preliminary report, investigators recommended Dublin Airport Authority should ensure all vehicles operating close to active runways have flashing lights, airband VHF radios linked to ground control and tower frequencies and were fitted with equipment to be detected on the ground.

The DAA told the investigation it had already implemented the interim safety recommendation.

A final report will be published when a full investigation is complete.