MID-AIR collisions were narrowly averted on the flight path above a North-East airport twice within days, it has been revealed.

As reported in The Northern Echo in August last year, passengers on a flight from Teesside Airport to Schipol Airport, in Amsterdam, were left shaken when the plane veered sharply to the left on touchdown.

Seconds later, a second plane landed in the same area, but officials denied there had been a real problem.

It has now been revealed that just days before, an aircraft's crew were grounded and flights cancelled after a passenger plane came within 300ft of a mid-air disaster.

The flight crew were so shaken by the near miss that the pilot ordered them to be grounded, and cancelled the rest of the day's flights.

The drama unfolded as KLM flight UK2145 was making its descent to Teesside Airport from Amsterdam, on August 13.

As the plane neared the ground, 37 passengers and two cabin crew were pinned to their seats when the aircraft climbed.

The 50-seater plane steadied, and the pilot informed passengers over the PA system that he had to take evasive action to avoid a military jet.

The Fokker 50 plane landed safely at 11.15am, shortly after the near miss, and passengers disembarked unaware of how close they had come to disaster.

The pilot grounded the crew because of stress, and further KLM flights from Teesside that day were cancelled.

The incident has been reported to the Air Proximity Board, an authority set up by the Civil Aviation Authority and the military.