A suspected drone came within 50 feet of a British Airways aircraft departing from Heathrow for Chennai on February 26.
The incident occurred at 10,500 feet at 2.50pm on February 26 and involved Flight BA35, operated by a Boeing B787-8 Dreamliner carrying 214 passengers.
The incident was rated as a Category A incident with a serious risk of collision by England’s Airprox Board
The drone was a quadcopter with blue lights approaching the plane from the front
Drones are normally legally restricted to flying at a maximum height of just 400ft. The operator of the drone was not found. They could face a prison sentence of up to five years if convicted of endangering an aircraft.
The report said “the first officer looked up to see an object approaching dead-ahead. They were confused as it was not an aircraft or a bird, and they were startled. The object was closing rapidly, and then clearly apparent as a medium sized quadcopter with four downward facing blue lights. It approached almost head-on, slightly to the right-hand side. It was hard to estimate the distance but, given the clear definition of lights and shape detail, it was discussed to be potentially within 50ft of the FO’s windscreen. ATC was informed.’
