Drone just 50f t from hitting jet at Scots airport
‘Irresponsible and illegal’
A PILOT came within 50ft of colliding with a drone while coming in to land at Glasgow Airport.
The Embraer E190 passenger jet was being brought in to land when the pilot noticed a ‘shiny white’ drone passing directly above the aircraft.
A report by aviation safety body Airprox says the risk of a collision at 800ft was ‘high’ as the drone passed between 50 and 100ft above the plane and that only ‘providence’ prevented potential disaster.
It was only visible to the pilot for a second after it reflected in the landing lights of the plane and passed over the window.
No evasive action was required and the plane continued to land as normal but the incident – classed as grade A, meaning a serious risk of collision existed – was later reported to air traffic control.
The drone was being flown above the permitted height of 400ft and posed a danger to aircraft flying in the area.
The report gave details about the incident which happened in September last year. It added: ‘The Glasgow controller reports that the E190 pilot reported a drone had flown very close to them. The drone was being flown above the maximum permitted height of 400ft and at an altitude and position in an airfield approach path such that it was endangering other aircraft at that location.’
It added: ‘The board considered that 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.’
Earlier this month Scottish airports announced plans to strengthen measures designed to tackle the threat posed by drones.
It comes after drone sightings forced Gatwick Airport to close, causing major disruption in the run-up to Christmas with around 1,000 flights cancelled over three days.
Police patrols have been stepped up around the perimeters of Scottish airports and other measures – such as extending no-fly zones – are being considered. Speaking earlier, a Glasgow Airport spokesman said: ‘Rest assured we work in close partnership with the UK Government, the Civil Aviation Authority and Police Scotland to ensure our security processes are both appropriate and in line with current threat assessments.’
The report revealed the Glasgow Airport incident was one of 18 recorded across the UK involving drones and aircraft between July and October last year. Four of the incidents investigated involved planes flying at Heathrow, the country’s busiest airport.
In one, a pilot of an Airbus A380 saw a large ‘commercial drone’ pass along the right side of the aircraft within 70ft at an altitude of 3,400 feet.
Airprox concluded that the incident involved the highest risk of collision.
A further incident saw a drone pass directly alongside a Boeing 737 as it was landing at East Midlands Airport.
The First Officer on board alerted the pilot and they watched it narrowly miss the plane.
Aviation minister Baroness Sugg said: ‘The actions of these drone users were not only irre-