Passenger jet forced to turn to avoid drone in near-miss at Gatwick Airport

The pilot had to take avoiding action approaching the UK’s second busiest airport

An airplane takes off at Gatwick Airport. Reuters

A passenger jet carrying up to 186 passengers was forced to take avoiding action approaching London’s Gatwick airport after a drone was spotted.

A near-miss report compiled by the UK Airprox Board said the Airbus A320 aircraft was flying at about around 520 metres when the pilot spotted a dark-coloured drone. In the UK, drones are not permitted to fly above 122 metres.

“The reported drone was being flown above the maximum permitted height of 400ft and within controlled airspace such that it was endangering other aircraft at that location,” the UKAB said in its July meeting.

The pilot turned the aircraft to the right by up to 8° to put a horizontal distance between the plane and the drone.

The incident, which took place on April 28, was designated a category A by the UKAB, the highest risk.

It is not known which airline the aircraft belonged to, although British Airways and easyJet operate A320 aircraft to and from Gatwick, the UK’s second busiest airport.

There were three other category A near-miss incidents involving drones identified by the UKAB at its meeting last month.

A pilot flying a Boeing 747 reported seeing a yellow and orange quadcopter pass down the left side of the plane while approaching London’s Heathrow Airport on June 6.

On May 25 an Airbus A319 was flying towards Gatwick at about 2,000 metres when a metallic-looking drone came "very close" to the right wing.

The pilot of a Cessna 152 light aircraft, flying above Chelmsford, Essex, came within a few metres of a black drone on June 2, which passed within 5 metres of the right wing of the plane.

Last December, drone sightings at Gatwick Airport caused about 1,000 flights to be cancelled or diverted over the busy holiday period.

Near-misses involving drones in the UK have risen dramatically over the past five years. Last year, 125 near-misses were reported compared to six in 2014.