A passenger plane came within metres of crashing into a drone while flying 6,000 foot over Thornton Heath.
According to a report by the UK Airprox Board, the A320 aircraft departed London Heathrow Airport just before 5.30pm on August 31, 2022.
The pilot reports that during departure out of Heathrow, while in level flight, a red drone passed closely above the aircraft.
The distance was less than 50 metres, which labelled it as a type “B” risk.
In the Board’s opinion, the reported altitude and description of the object were such that they were unable to determine the nature of the unknown object.
DroneLaws.com state that drone users have to register to fly any drone weighing more than 250g in the UK.
The Board considered that the pilot's overall account of the incident portrayed a situation where safety had been “much reduced below the norm” to the extent that safety had not been assured.
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