Report: Drone in Near-Miss With Plane Over London’s Shard Skyscraper

LONDON (AP) —
The Shard. (Colin/Wikimedia Commons)
The Shard skyscraper. (Colin/Wikimedia Commons)

A new report says a drone just missed hitting an A320 passenger plane flying above the Shard skyscraper in central London in July.

The “very near-miss” underscored the fears of many aviation experts about the growing popularity of drones. The plane was approaching Heathrow Airport and flying at nearly 5,000 feet when the pilot spotted a 20-inch drone off the right flight deck window.

The U.K. Airprox report says “chance had played a major part” in avoiding a collision.

Under British rules, a drone operator must be able to see the drone at all times — so such a flight would be illegal.

The review published last week says there were several incidents involving drones in the last reporting period, including one near-miss with a plane at Liverpool Airport.

To Read The Full Story

Are you already a subscriber?
Click to log in!