Virgin plane within 10ft of hitting drone over London

A VIRGIN Atlantic plane was just 10ft from hitting a drone in the closest nearmiss involving a passenger jet and one of the gadgets in UK airspace.

It happened as the Virgin Atlantic jet passed over central London, flying at around 250mph at 3,200ft on its approach to land at Heathrow.

The B787-9 Dreamliner, carrying up to 264 passengers, was passing over residential streets north of Clapham Common when it almost hit the drone.

A report by the UK Airprox Board (UKAB), which investigates near misses, said that the “drone-like object was seen to pass just below the plane’s right wing, avoiding impact with the engine by an estimated 10ft”. It landed safely after the incident on June 25.

Air traffic controllers were informed, but police did not find any trace of the drone operator who was flying the device at eight times the legal height.

The Civil Aviation Authority said the near-miss was believed to be the closest call ever between a drone and a commercial airliner over the UK.

Last March it was revealed that the number of near misses had tripled from 29 in 2015 to 92 last year.

Last month it was reported that a drone being flown at three miles high came within 100ft of hitting an Airbus A321 over South Yorkshire.