Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Feet from death
Expert warns device could have killed cockpit crew if it smashed into 200mph plane Luxury jet a favourite with royals and celebs has a close shave as it approaches Luton
THE only thing that stopped a drone smashing into a luxury private jet as it came in to land at a UK airport was luck, accident chiefs have revealed.
And an aviation expert said if the remote device had shattered the cockpit windscreen it could have killed or injured the crew, with devastating consequences.
The illegally flown drone came within 10ft of hitting the Bombardier Global 6000, which is regularly used by celebrities, as it approached London Luton airport at 4,000ft at 200mph.
It is the joint closest ever near-miss recorded in UK airspace.
Former BA pilot Terry Tozer, who has more than 20 years’ flying experience, said: “The damage could have been really serious. If a drone hit the windshield it could kill or incapacitate at least one of the flight crew.
“It could also be ingested into an engine with a similar outcome to a bird strike. These types of incidents are going to be an increasing problem. It’s a real concern for pilots.
“Stricter regulations have been brought in but you will always get people who don’t care about the rules.
“It’s very difficult to know how we are going to control drones.”
There have been a string of nearmisses with drones and aircraft since the devices came on the market.
The latest close shave came a year after flights were suspended at Gatwick airport for more than 36 hours because of several drone sightings in the area.
It is not known who owned the device that nearly hit the Bombardier. But it was flying at 10 times the permitted height for such craft.
The UK Airprox Board, which investigates near-misses, rated it as the most dangerous Category A incident where there was a serious risk of collision. Its report said: “The Board considered the pilot’s overall account of the incident portrayed a situation where providence had played a major part in the incident and/or a definite risk of collision had existed.
“The GL6000S pilot reports he was inbound to Luton when he saw a drone moving west to east at around 4000ft.
“The drone appeared to have some sort of light source at the front. The size was difficult to judge but best estimate was 50cm by 50cm. It was estimated to pass within 10ft of the aircraft.”
The 14-seat £46million Bombardier jet, owned by rental company Netjets – dubbed “Hertz for Heirs” because it caters for so many showbiz stars and royalty
– was flying from Nice to
Luton just after midday on
August 26. It was 14 miles west of the airport when the drone nearly hit. No other pilots saw the remote device near the airport, which is used by 16.6 million passengers a year.
The report did not disclose the identity of any passengers on the jet. Bedfordshire Police have been contacted for comment but it is understood the owner of the drone has not been traced.
Flying such devices near airports is illegal.
But Flightglobal online magazine consulting editor
The pilot’s overall account portrayed a situation where providence played a major part
UK AIRPROX BOARD REPORT INTO THE DRONE AND JET NEAR-MISS AT 4,000FT
David Learmount said police are struggling to identify drone pilots under current laws. He added: “Everyone who owns a drone has to register themselves but bringing people to justice is very difficult if you can’t find the drone.
“The only solution, which is very expensive, would be to fit ID transponders to every drone.
“This would allow ATCS to not only know a drone was there, but also know whose it was. This is the best option but not necessarily what I recommend.
“The regulations we have don’t need to be changed, they just need to be enforced properly.”
It is understood the technology to equip drones with lightweight transponders is being developed. The CAA said: “It is illegal to fly drones close to airports without permission and anyone flouting the rules can face severe penalties, including imprisonment.
“The rules for flying drones are designed to keep all airspace users safe.”
This year the European Commission warned about the potential use of drones to carry out terror attacks.
Labour MP Luke Pollard, who has sat on the Commons Transport Select Committee, said last night: “There is a lot of focus on the terrorism side of drone safety and the potential effects.
“But we need to avoid accidents as well. With more and more drones being used around the UK, we need the rules that we have in place to be better enforced and we need air space to be better managed for what could be tens of thousands of new drones being used in the future.”
But Mr Learmount added: “I don’t think anyone would fly a drone intending to murder 200 passengers. But pilots have been targeted with laser pens so clearly some people think mischievousness does no harm.
“There will be far more drones around in the future so we do have to get a handle on the problem.”
Royals including Prince Harry and Meghan have reportedly flown with Netjets, amid accusations of hypocrisy for claiming to be eco-warriors. In August they were snapped leaving one at Nice in France.