First near-miss between airliner and two drones

A near-miss involving a passenger jet and more than one drone has been reported in the UK for the first time.

An Airbus A320 was approaching Heathrow last November, flying at 5,500ft, when its crew spotted two drones. They came as close as 1,640ft to the aircraft. The pilot said there would have been a “significant risk of collision” if the jet had been on a different path. The UK Airprox Board found the incident had “compromised the safety of the aircraft”. Thirty minutes later, a Boeing 777 flew within 160ft of one of the drones.