A drone comes to within 50-m of a Dash-8 transport aircraft over London City Airport

It was a sort of near miss when a drone came to within 50 meters from a passenger plane in a 'possibly catastrophic' situation over London City Airport. The drone was spotted by both the pilot and co-pilot of the twin-engined Dash 8 aircraft, which can carry up to 78 passengers. The incident took place on April 19 as the drone passed along the right-hand side of the plane.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 28 August 2015.

The aircraft was a Dash-8 and the revelation was by the UK Airprox Board which probes near misses. They have assigned this close call its second highest risk rating of B – this means 'safety is not assured'.
The owner of the drone could not be identified – it was flying at the same altitude as the plane. Moreover, there was no radar information for the drone and, it was clear the pilots had seen it 'at close quarters'. It seems there were numerous parks in the areas from where the drone could have been launched.
As per existing laws on using drones – they must not fly higher than 400ft and must not be further than 500m away from the pilot. They cannot also be flown within 150m of any other congested area, or within 50m of other aircraft or vehicle.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)


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Airbus A320 had a brush with death over Heathrow airport

An Airbus A320 with 180 passengers on board had a near brush with death at an altitude of 700ft when it came near a drone that was in the air – the incident near Heathrow airport which is the busiest airport in the UK took place on July 22. The report has, only now, been made public.
It was fortunate that the pilot who spotted the drone in time and took evasive action.
In the opinion of aviation experts, it is only a matter of time before a drone causes a major accident with a passenger jet in the skies above Britain. These fears arise because of the increase in the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in the last few years which do not need a license and there is only minimal regulation.
The warning has come from the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA). The general secretary of BALPA, Jim McAuslan, has remarked that it would be very easy for a near-miss to become a disaster. Hence, it is necessary to introduce suitable regulations and have enforcement procedures that are practical in operating efficiently.
The weight of a drone may be small (around 3Kg) but, such an object, can cause serious damage to the aircraft when it is going at a speed. It could strike the windscreen or get ingested into the engine.
The popularity of drones is on the rise and, with its cost falling, these UAVs are being used for everything from promotional videos to gathering pictures for the news and, probably, during Christmas thousands of drones could be sold on the high street and online.