Disaster was a few feet away when a 10ft drone came close to crashing into a passenger jet, which had just departed from London’s Heathrow Airport.
The Airbus A320 – used by major airlines like British Airways, Lufthansa and Wizz Air – was at 9,000ft when the near-miss occurred.
A report into the incident by investigation bod UK Airpox Board stressed that ‘a definite risk of collision had existed’.
The drone appeared not long after the airplane had take off, covering its windscreen and leaving the pilots without a clear view.
It said: ‘Both the Captain and First Officer saw a bright white object pass overhead from the opposite direction.
‘It appeared to be approximately two-three metres in size at the very least.’
The report added that the aircraft was spotted on the radar by air traffic controllers, the Sun reported.
The name of the airline operating the plane or destination was not shared in the report, but the incident is said to have happened in May.
Another drone was seen near London’s City Airport around the same time.
The report added: ‘The First Officer observed that the object was triangular in shape.
‘The Captain only saw the object for a second or two in peripheral vision so could not reliably comment on the shape. No markings were identified.’
The pilot stated that the object ‘went over us, probably within about 10 metres.’
What is the law on flying drones near airports and airplanes?
Penalties for violating laws on flying drones could land you in prison with your drone confiscated. But what are the rules?
You should ‘never fly a drone near an airport or airfield or close to aircraft’, according to the Ministry of Defence.
This is because you could ‘endanger the safety of aircraft in flight’, which is a criminal offence.
It is illegal to fly drones within 1km of an airport, and the drone must be within 500m of the pilot, and always within their line of sight.
You might be able to get an exception to some of this if you have permission to fly in an airport’s restriction zone, according to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
Even so, you must never fly a drone more than 120 metres, or 400ft, above the surface.
Generally you must register your drone with the CAA before you’re legally allowed to fly it.
This is always the case for drones weighing 250g or more, or drones with a camera.
If it weighs 250g or more, you also need to a pass a test and get a flyer ID from the CAA.
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