A drone passed by a passenger plane in July over central London in a near miss that was one of several recent near-misses with jets in Britain, according to a report published last week.
According to the UK Airprox Board report, an Airbus A320 with about 165 passengers on board was approaching Heathrow Airport on July 18 when a drone came within 66 feet of the plane, BBC News reported. The plane and drone were at an altitude of about 4,900 feet when the incident occurred and were flying over the area of the Shard skyscraper in London.
The 20-inch black drone was seen from the right-side flight deck window, according to the report. The crew said the drone likely passed over the right wing and a horizontal stabilizer at the tail of the plane.
“Members agreed that this incident appeared to be a very near-miss and that the drone operator should not have been flying in that location at that altitude,” the report said, according to the BBC. Additionally, the report’s account of the incident “portrayed a situation where a collision had only been narrowly avoided and chance had played a major part.”
British drone rules state the operator must be able to see the drone while it is flying, according to U.S. News and World Report, which means the incident in question was an illegal use of the drone.
The drone’s operator has not been found.
The near-miss incident was classified in the “most serious” risk category by the report.
“The proliferation of (small unmanned aircraft) and the difficulty in policing the regulations ... continues to raise considerable concern within the military flying community,” the report stated, according to by U.S. News.
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