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A pilot reported seeing a “flying saucer” pass just feet from their aircraft while descending into London’s Gatwick Airport, according to a newly published UK Airprox Board report into the April incident.
The pilot of an Airbus A319 said they saw a disc-shaped object flying in the opposite direction, passing the right wing at the same altitude.
They estimated it came within 100 to 300 feet of the aircraft, describing it as a disc with darker markings on the rim, and said they suspected it may have been a drone.
The plane was already descending and banking left into a turn at the time, so no emergency evasive action was required.
Airprox Board rules jet’s safety was “reduced”
According to the Evening Standard, the UK Airprox Board, which investigates near-miss incidents to improve air safety, ruled that the safety of the aircraft had been officially reduced by the encounter.
Wikimedia CommonsLondon Gatwick Airport
The same report detailed a second drone incident at Heathrow Airport that also took place in April.
The pilot of an Airbus A321 saw a drone pass so close down the left side of the plane that they could make out its color, shape and individual spinning propellers. Officials ruled a definite risk of collision had existed in that case, with providence playing a major part in avoiding disaster.
Drone-related dangers near airports have led to serious consequences before. The FAA handed a YouTuber a lifetime drone ban after he was found flying inside controlled airspace near Philadelphia International Airport, at one point losing control of the drone entirely over a populated area.
