Heathrow passenger jet '35m from striking drone over London'

Near-miss: The aircraft had just taken off from the west London airport
PA
Sebastian Mann28 April 2016

A passenger jet came within 35m of a flashing drone shortly after taking off from Heathrow.

Pilots of the A320 Airbus had “no time to react” when confronted by the 2ft-wide black device with a red strobe light over south-east London, flight safety investigators said.

The UK Airprox Board put the risk of collision in the ‘A’ category – the highest possible level.

According to a report, the drone was first spotted a short distance in front of the aircraft as it passed 12,500ft.

The plane continued to climb before the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) “flashed beneath by about 100-150ft and slightly left of the fuselage”.

The report added: “The entire event lasted no more than 3 or 4 seconds, making any evasive action virtually impossible.”

Sighting: A drone similar to this was reported (file pic) Andrew Matthews/PA Wire
Andrew Matthews/PA Wire

It concluded the drone was being flown illegally and said “chance had played a major part in events”.

The incident happened in the afternoon of February 14 and the drone pilot was not traced.

News of the near-miss comes in the wake of a series of similar reports in recent months.

Earlier this month a drone was said to have struck a plane as it came into land at Heathrow – but today Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin told MPs it was no longer being treated as a “drone incident”.

Experts have suggested that military-grade technology to down UAVs with “death rays” could be used to tackle the problem.

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