RESIDENTS claim a tragedy is on the cards if pilots taking off and landing at an airport continue to fly “dangerously low” over their houses.

Those living in Shoreham say planes taking off from Shoreham Airport are veering east within seconds of taking off and flying just 40 to 60 feet above their houses.

Instead, they say pilots should continue a straight line during takeoff until they are at a height of at least 500 feet, which would take them to Shoreham Beach.

Ray Allcorn, of Windsor Way in the town, said: “A lot of residents here are concerned the pilots aren’t keeping to the guide lines when taking off and landing at Shoreham.

“I’ve been told by a BA pilot that the correct procedure for taking off from any airport is that they must keep in a straight line from the runway until they reach 500 feet before turning east or west.

“The vast majority at Shoreham are taking sharp turns east and flying ridiculously close to our homes. All it takes is an engine to fail and we have a tragedy on our hands.”

Mr Allcorn said he was “not trying to stop flying out of the airport” but was simply asking for pilots taking off or landing to “give some consideration” and fly 100 metres south west of the boundaries of residents’ homes.

Jonathan Candelon, managing director of the airport, said he could not control what pilots did once in the air and from video and picture evidence given to him by The Argus, could not see where rules had been breached.

He said: “As a guide pilots will turn at 500 feet but it depends what they’re doing. The noise abatement procedure says pilots should avoid noise sensitive areas but it depends on wind and the performance of the aircraft, the temperature and so on.

“From what I’ve seen no rules have been broken here.”

A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority, said: “We have not received any specific complaints about Shoreham Airport.

“Safety is, of course, paramount and we take very seriously any complaints we do receive about low flying aircraft. Our inspectors will be discussing any issues with Shoreham Airport managers in due course.”

In 2001 residents and a pilot had a lucky escape when a glider plane crashed into a house while coming into Shoreham Airport.

The light aircraft had plummeted to Earth, just yards from a primary school and a busy railway line, into the back garden of the property in West Street.