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London city planners were lamenting the "missed opportunity" last week as a stricken British Airways plane failed to destroy large parts of Hounslow, instead making a safe crash landing on Heathrow's second runway.

Local councillors described the near miss as a "terrible waste", which has potentially set back the chances of urban regeneration for years to come.

The dilapidated West London suburb, characterised by cramped housing estates and poor local infrastructure, lies just yards away from the perimeter fence on the outskirts of Heathrow.

London Mayor Ken Livingstone criticised the British Airways pilot for being "selfish" and "not acting in the public interest" by completely failing to crash his plane into the Hounslow estates.

Meanwhile airport bosses pointed out that the pilot could easily have ploughed his aircraft into the hippy encampment of protestors demonstrating against the proposed expansion of Heathrow.