An investigation has been launched after a British Airways flight was struck by what is believed to be a drone as it came in to land at Heathrow Airport.
The pilot of flight BA727 from Geneva in Switzerland reported being hit as the Airbus A320 approached the west London hub on Sunday afternoon with 132 passengers and five crew on board.
Scotland Yard said that no one has been arrested and aviation police based at the airport are investigating.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch also confirmed that it has begun an investigation.
The collision is the latest and most serious in a string of incidents involving drones at Heathrow, with several near misses between flights and unmanned aircraft reported in the last year.
And it raises the issue of regulation and control of drones, especially in sensitive areas like airports.
BA said the aircraft was examined by engineers and cleared to take off for its next flight following the incident.
Steve Landells, flight safety specialist at the British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa), called for greater enforcement and awareness of rules that govern drone flights.
He said: "Frankly it was only a matter of time before we had a drone strike given the huge numbers being flown around by amateurs who don't understand the risks and the rules."
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) "drone code" says the unmanned craft should not be flown above 400 feet and kept away from planes, helicopters, airports and airfields. Those with cameras fitted should also be kept at least 50 metres from people, vehicles, buildings and other structures.
A report in March by the UK Airprox Board (UKAB) found there were 23 near misses between drones and aircraft in the six months between April and October last year, including two at Heathrow.
On September 22 a Boeing 777 that had just taken off reported a drone narrowly passed down its right hand side. Investigators concluded the drone was at the same height and within 25 metres of the jet. A report was made to police but the drone operator was not traced.
Days later, on September 30, a drone was flown within a similar distance of an Airbus A319 landing at Heathrow. The jet was flying at an altitude of 500 feet and was on the final approach to the west London airport when the drone was spotted.
The Government is also considering technology to restrict where civilian drones can fly amid growing concerns.
Transport Minister Robert Goodwill said that ministers are looking at the possibility of introducing a drone registration scheme in the UK, similar to the ones already in place in Ireland and the US.
The Department for Transport has confirmed it is also talking to manufacturers about introducing so-called geo-fencing technology in their drones.
A CAA spokesman said it was "totally unacceptable" to fly drones close to airports and anyone flouting the rules can face severe penalties including imprisonment.
A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said a pilot on an inbound flight into Heathrow Airport from Geneva "reported to police that he believed a drone had struck the aircraft" at around 12.50pm.
On investigation it transpired an object, "believed to be a drone", had struck the front of the aircraft.
A BA spokesman said: "Our aircraft landed safely, was fully examined by our engineers and it was cleared to operate its next flight."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel