Jet near-miss by ‘very large’ drone ‘put 130 lives at risk’

A 3ft wide drone “put 130 lives at risk” after it passed directly over the right wing of an Airbus A319 approaching Gatwick Airport, according to the UK Airprox Board (UKAB).

It was described as “very large, certainly not a toy”, with four blades and a metre wide. The plane’s first officer told investigators that the “startle factor of the drone’s proximity” nearly caused him to disconnect the cockpit’s autopilot system and take “avoiding action”.

A safe landing was completed despite the presence of the drone on July 9 but the UKAB warned: “A larger aircraft might not have missed it and, in the captain’s opinion, it had put 130 lives at risk.”

The incident was classed as having the highest degree of risk as “providence had played a major part” in a collision being avoided. The airline involved and the origin of the plane was not identified by the UKAB.

Steve Landells, flight safety specialist at Balpa, the pilots’ association, described it as “another worrying near-miss that could have ended in tragedy”.

It was one of 18 nearmisses involving drones, balloons or other objects investigated at the latest UKAB meeting. In July, the Department for Transport unveiled plans to set up a drone registration system.