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| BRITISH AIRWAYS AIRBUS A320-232 G-EUUS (MSN 3301) |
A report has just been released about a British Airways plane with 180 passengers on board that came a few feet away from colliding with a drone over Kent, according to a report. The Airbus A321 from Athens, Greece, to London Heathrow was flying at a speed of more than 250mph and at a height of 9,600ft at the time.
The incident is thought to be one of the closest ever near misses recorded between a British Airways jet and an illegally flown drone.
It happened just before 4.30pm on the 3rd of January as the airplane was heading into a holding stack around six miles south of Sevenoaks while waiting its turn to join the final flight path into Heathrow Airport.
The drone was being flown at 24 times the usual maximum legal height for the devices which is just 400ft. It is believed that the operator of the drone was never found, but they could have been jailed for up to five years for endangering an aircraft.
The UK Airprox Board report states that pilots observed a drone approximately 5ft above their wing and merely 30ft away from the cockpit. The drone was described as small with a distinctive shape. It traversed down the right side of the aircraft, passing over the right wing. The information was promptly relayed to London Air Traffic Control, who then alerted the pilot of the following aircraft.
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