RAF Tornado Badly Damaged After Collision With Stray Dog

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An RAF Tornado jet was badly damaged after it collided with a stray dog while landing at a British airbase in Cyprus.

The £9.4 million Tornado GR4 was returning to its base after reportedly fighting ISIS targets in Syria on Tuesday when the incident occurred.

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RT reports:

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The 14 ton jet needed “hundreds of thousands” of pounds worth of repairs, a source told the Sun, and was taken out of action.

The plane was approaching the coastal base at around 200mph when a stray dog ran across the airstrip. Due to the high velocity of the craft and proximity to the ground, the pilot could not abort his landing and came down directly on top of the dog.

Both pilot and navigator managed to escape unscathed. The same couldn’t be said for the unfortunate canine.

The pilot kept control of the plane as it landed on the stray, but witnesses said the incident could have been far worse as the jet was loaded with Brimstone and Paveway missiles following a night mission.

“The crew were in danger to the point they considered ejecting on the runway,” a source told the paper.

“Packs of strays roam the base for food. Everyone is s******* themselves about a major incident,” the source added.

The incident took place on Tuesday at RAF Akrotiri, in the south of Cyprus, from where the British carry out their aerial bombing raids on Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) in Syria.

Airbase security concerns have already been raised, as the fence surrounding its perimeter is broken in places.