- According to a new report, an Easyjet flight was “near misses” with an “unidentified flying objects.”
- Pilot said that the plane had missed the unmanned flying object by approximately 10 feet.
- According to the UK Airprox Board, the object is likely to be a drone.
According to a report by The Associated Press, Easyjet’s flight in July was “near missed” by an “unidentified fly object” flying at approximately 16,000 feet in London’s airtraffic control area. UK Airprox Board.
The pilot of the Airbus A320 — which was flying from London Gatwick to Rhodes in Greece — described the object as black and cylindrical and said it passed within 10 feet of the aircraft, per the report released last week.
The incident was rated Category A by the board. This means that there was a chance of a collision. It was also deemed likely that the object involved was a drone.
It stated: “In the board’s opinion, the reported altitude/or description the object were sufficient for it to be a drone.”
According to the National Air Traffic Services Investigation Report, the pilot reported the incident via radio during the flight.
“We very nearly hit a drone when we were flying through FL160.” The pilot stated that we were talking about less than ten feet. “We don’t believe we hit it, there was some thud. But we’ll get back to you.”
The pilot confirmed after landing that the plane had not reached contact with drone, and that the thud came from the cabin. This is according to the report.
According to the The UK Drone Safety Regulations, drones can only be operated at 400 feet above the ground. UK Civil Aviation AuthorityThis means that the unmanned aerial vehicle was flying at around 40 times the legal limit for drones.
Insider spoke with a spokesperson from Easyjet“We are aware that the report has been submitted and will support any investigation.”
“Safety is always easyJet’s highest priority, and our flight crew acted according to our standard operating procedure to ensure safety was not compromised.”
A collision between a drone or an aircraft can lead to serious injury. Severe damage to the plane.
Gatwick Airport was London’s most popular airport in 2018. Forcibly to closeFor more than 24 hours following the flight of drones over the runway
