BA Airbus Hit by Drone at Heathrow Airport

A police investigation is under way after a passenger plane approaching Heathrow Airport was hit by what is believed to have been a drone. The British Airways flight from Geneva, with 132 passengers and five crew on board, was hit as it approached the London airport at 12:50 BST on Sunday.

If confirmed, it’s thought it would be the first such incident in the UK.

BA said it would give the police “every assistance with their investigation”. No arrests have been made, police say.

The Metropolitan Police’s aviation security unit based at Heathrow will lead the investigation.

After safely landing the plane, the pilot reported an object – believed to have been a drone – had struck the front of the Airbus A320.

A BA spokesman said: “Our aircraft landed safely, was fully examined by our engineers and it was cleared to operate its next flight.”

A Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) spokesman said it was “totally unacceptable” to fly drones – which are generally used to capture aerial film or photographs – close to airports.

Steve Landells, from the British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa), said it had been “only a matter of time before we had a drone strike”. He called for greater enforcement of existing rules.

Drone incidents at UK airports

• 17 April 2016 – A British Airways plane approaching Heathrow is believed to have hit a drone while in midair
• 28 November 2015 – The pilot of an A321 plane narrowly missed a drone hovering at 100ft above a runway at Gatwick Airport
• 30 September 2015 – A small drone helicopter passed within 30ft of the cockpit of an A319 plane while on the approach to Heathrow
• 22 September 2015 – A “quadcopter-type drone” missed the right-hand side of a B777 plane by about 25m while at 2,000ft after it left Heathrow Airport
• 13 September 2015 – A silver drone with a “balloon-like” centre missed an E170 aircraft by about 20m, while the plane was approaching London City Airport over the Thames
• 13 September 2015 – A drone flew over the top of a B737 aircraft while at 4,000ft, missing it by about 5m, shortly after it left Stansted
• 27 August 2015 – A DO328 aircraft flew within 50ft of a drone while approaching Manchester Airport at 2,800ft

Source: The UK Airprox Board

Photo: Christian Jilg – Planespotters .net

Source: BBC News