I live near Camberley (Only parts of which should be destroyed) and LHR Outbounds heading for Midhurst or occasionally Southampton are common and while most I would guess have made it to 4000ft or more there are occasionally 'heavies' a fair bit lower . BA and SAA 744s in the summer are good examples.
If LHRs is on easterlies theres a constant procession of inbounds and these vary in height crossing Bracjnell but I doubt if they are evr lower than 2000ft . I am sure the Egyptair wasn't exactly at 'treetop' height but if it was at only 1000 ft or so it would have looked immense to people accustomed to seeing planes most days but usually at 3000-4000 ft.
Doesnt anyone from the ATC forum have any idea what happened in this case -would losing one engine on 777 impair climb out that much that it was only at say 1000ft ten miles from LHR?
SW of Bracknell the ground is relatively high for the London area -almost 400ft asl and on top of the highest point is the Bagshot mast at about 780 ft asl. Many years ago a Pan Am 744 lost an engine on departue from LHR and did get pretty close to the mast area and made the news then . But that was in the early days of 74s and they struggled on hot days even with all four running. I thought a 777 would have performed a lot better on one .
Any ATC guys with further info?
PB