A quick-thinking Aer Lingus pilot was forced to swerve quickly to avoid contact with a drone, a report claims.
The incident took place at around 2pm on April 28, 2019 and involved an Airbus A320.
The plane was flying at 1,700ft from Dublin Airport and preparing for landing at London Gatwick when it had the close encounter with the drone.
The report by UK Airprox Board, which investigates near misses on flights, gave the incident the highest possible rating of a Category A which indicates that there was a “serious risk of collision”.
It states that “in the final stages of approach at Gatwick”, the pilot “saw a dark coloured drone ahead” and swerved to the right to avoid contact.
It is illegal to fly a drone above 400 feet or within one kilometre of an airport boundary and the report found that the drone was in breach of these regulations and was “endangering other aircraft at that location”.
The report continued: “The Board considered that the pilot’s overall account of the incident portrayed a situation where although safety had been reduced, avoiding action was able to be taken.”
The drone operator could face a jail sentence of up to five years under UK law if convicted of endangering an aircraft.
UK Airprox Board’s report did not name the airline involved but flight records suggest that the only A320 that was landing in Gatwick at that time was an Aer Lingus plane.
The incident came just months after several reported drone sightings at the London airport grounded flights over Christmas and disrupted the festive holidays of 140,000 passengers.
Sussex Police are still investigating the sightings which saw 1,000 flights cancelled last December.
Aer Lingus said in a statement: “Aer Lingus can confirm that any drone sightings by our crew are reported Air Traffic Control and to the relevant authorities.
“We follow the guidance of airport authorities and aviation regulators on this matter to ensure appropriate safety standards are adhered to within commercial air transport airspace.”
